Soul Searching
by chem prof
Summary: Begins right after HBP and goes through summer.  Besides searching for Horcruxes, focus is on the relationship between Harry and Hermione.  They are the main characters, but it's not necessarily a romantic relationship.  Some HG romance in the background.
1. Leaving Hogwarts

**Disclaimer**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment. At least a few of the ideas in this story are original with me. If J. K. is interested in using them she's welcome to them.

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**Introduction**

Soul Searching begins immediately following the last scene in Half Blood Prince, and continues to the end of the summer. The title has a double meaning. In addition to the Horcrux search, the characters struggle to understand their feelings for each other. Thus, this story is about relationships as much as anything else. Since the Horcrux search is by nature secretive, there will be few open battles, but there will be some fighting.

The main characters in the story will be Harry and Hermione, but theirs will not necessarily be a romantic relationship. Through five books we saw a steadily deepening friendship and trust between the two of them, which was interrupted by book six. This story will be about how they restore and strengthen that friendship. It's like the question raised by the movie 'When Harry met Sally' – how close friends can a man and a woman become without the romance thing getting in the way?

Since this story is about relationships, let me make it clear that it begins with the relationships as I saw them at the end of Half Blood Prince. Harry just broke up with Ginny, but they still like each other. Hermione was clearly interested in starting something with Ron, but nothing ever happened (that we saw anyway) so it appears that Ron is something between reluctant and completely uninterested. I know that there are many shippers out there that only want to read about certain relationships. I hope that this story will appeal to both HG and HHr shippers. I doubt that RHr shippers will like it.

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**Chapter 1, Leaving Hogwarts**

Saturday, June 14, 1997

"Before we go any farther, I have to ask. What's going on between you two?"

Dumbledore's funeral had ended. Minister Scrimgeour had come and gone. Harry had just been told in no uncertain terms that Ron and Hermione were going to accompany him in his search for the Horcruxes, enchanted objects that held pieces of Voldemort's soul. Harry thought about this unexpected alteration of his plans. The three of them had had their differences during the past school year, and had not been as close as in previous years. Yet here they were, insisting on accompanying him on what was sure to be a dangerous journey. He considered what had divided them this year, and decided there was something he had to get straight. Hence his question.

There was silence from his two friends. Ron stared at him with a deer-in-the-headlights look, while Hermione was looking anxiously at Ron. Seeing that he wasn't going to get a response, Harry continued. "Last fall I thought you were going to start going out. I remember that I worried about what would happen if you went together for a while, then split up, and whether your friendship could survive it. Well, it ended up worse than I could have imagined. You didn't exactly ever go out, but you spent the next several months not speaking to each other, or even deliberately hurting each other." Hermione had raised her hand to her mouth, a horrified expression on her face, and Ron looked distinctly uncomfortable. "I'm not going to be the one in the middle again. If that's going to happen, I'm going by myself. I have enough to deal with without refereeing you two. You've been back to being friends for over a month, but how do I know how long it will last? If you start going together, then get into a fight and break up …"

Hermione now looked as though she were going to cry. Ron shuffled his feet a little, then looked directly at Harry. "Don't worry. We're just friends. We weren't ever going together and we aren't now. It's back to like it was before. And we haven't even been arguing as much lately, right?" he finished eagerly. Hermione, however, now had an anguished expression on her face as she looked at Ron again. Harry decided that he would need to talk to her alone later.

"OK," Harry said, "I just wanted to clear that up. I didn't mean to embarrass you, but we might be going into life or death situations, and we have to stay focused."

Suddenly Hermione threw herself at Harry, wrapping her arms around him. "Oh Harry, I'm so sorry. I acted horribly toward you this year. If I had believed you this might not have happened!"

Harry patted her on the back a bit awkwardly and replied soothingly, "That's OK Hermione. A lot of other people didn't believe me either. And that's understandable after last year when I almost got all of you killed. What's important is that we're all together now." He pulled back from her a little and looked over at Ron, motioning him into a three way hug.

"Friends again?" asked Harry, and the other two responded, "Friends again."

As they started walking back to the castle, Ron turned to Harry and asked, "What about you and Ginny?"

"We broke up."

"What!" Ron and Hermione said in unison. Hermione continued, "You were so happy together."

"Don't get me wrong," explained Harry quickly. "We still like each other a lot. I just decided that it's too dangerous for me to have a girlfriend. Voldemort could use her to get to me. If everyone thinks we're not going together anymore, then she'll be safer." Ron relaxed at this. For a minute Harry had thought that Ron was going to hit him. "You guys would be safer away from me too."

"Don't start that, Harry," interrupted Hermione. Everyone knows we've been friends for years. It wouldn't do any good for you to stay away from us and we aren't going to allow you to."

"Are you sure that it's a good idea, though?" asked Ron. "Breaking up with Ginny, I mean. I don't think she's going to be too happy about that, and she's got quite a temper you know."

"She seemed OK with it when I told her at the end of the funeral," claimed Harry. "Actually, I thought she'd argue like you two are doing, but she just accepted it. She said she knew this would happen and that I wouldn't be happy unless I was hunting Voldemort." He frowned. "I'm not sure I'd put it that way. It's not like I'm happy doing this. It's just something I have to do."

Hermione put her arm around Harry, then Ron did the same from the other side as they resumed their trek towards the castle.

Hermione stopped again. "You breaking up with Ginny won't do any good if no one knows about it." She thought a while. "Do you want to have a screaming fight in front of everyone?"

"Not really. I'd like everyone to think we're just friends."

"Why don't you deliberately avoid each other all the way home?" Ron suggested. "That would seem more like you, and when people see you're obviously apart the rumor mill will take care of the rest."

-----

Hermione had agreed that she would tell Ginny, and Ron and Harry had made sure to avoid her as they got their trunks and owls and boarded the Hogwarts Express. They found an empty compartment and waited for Hermione. When she arrived she told them the plan was working flawlessly. Ginny was moping in a compartment with Colin, Luna and some other fifth years, and there was a steady stream of girls coming in to commiserate with her. Unfortunately that meant that soon a steady stream of girls started coming to their compartment to commiserate with a suddenly available Harry, but Hermione eventually put a stop to that by putting a complicated locking charm and an imperturbable charm on the door. The trio eventually settled down to plan their task.

"Malfoy made fools of us this year," said Harry suddenly. "He beat us at every turn."

"What do you mean?" Ron was clearly reluctant to hear _anything_ complimentary about Malfoy.

"Look at what he accomplished," reasoned Harry. "And you know how he did it? While we were playing quidditch he was working full time at his mission. He probably trained and studied all summer, then when he came back he gave up his prefect spot and quit quidditch so he could devote all his time to it. I acted like it was a game of hide and seek, but he was playing for keeps. He didn't mess around when we dueled in Myrtle's bathroom either. He was trying to Crucio me when I knocked him out with that spell."

"We have to get serious about this. No more taking summer off. I need to train and get a lot better at dueling. Snape kicked my arse. Not continuing the DA this year was stupid." Harry paused and looked at them. "If we do this it has to be a full time commitment. We'll take a couple days off for the wedding, but that's it. And you may decide differently for yourselves, but until it's finished, I'm not going back to school. I can always go back to Hogwarts for my last year when it's over – if I'm still alive."

"Oh Harry!" was all Hermione could say. She grabbed his arm and buried her face against his shoulder. _How could he talk about dying so easily?_

Ron, however, stood up and moved in front of Harry. He leaned over and put his hands on both of Harry's shoulders and looked him directly in the eye. "You're going to make it through this. We are all going to make it through this." He waited until Harry nodded at him, then continued in a somewhat lighter tone, "I've waited for years for you to get together with Ginny. Two lousy weeks doesn't cut it. You're going to come back and you're going to make it work with her."

Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. Why had he spent so much time worrying about what Ron would think of him dating Ginny?

Hermione broke in, moving back to Harry's original point. "You're absolutely right Harry. This is the most important thing in our lives right now. Even more important than NEWTs." She ignored the smirks that Harry and Ron shot at each other and continued. "After we get settled in, I'll put together a study schedule for all the things we need to learn." Harry and Ron's smirks now turned to groans, and Hermione responded with a triumphant smirk of her own.

There was a long silence as Harry stared out the window at the Scottish countryside rolling past. Somewhere out there was his enemy, killing people at will. His task seemed overwhelming. Harry sighed. "He has so many advantages over me. What power do I have that he doesn't?"

Hermione had apparently been giving this some thought. "Maybe we can turn a weakness into a strength," she suggested.

"What do you mean?"

"He despises muggles and everything associated with them. That means he's ignorant of anything muggle. Just look at cell phones. How easier and faster are they to use than owls? Most wizards" – here Hermione nodded at Ron – "can't even use a regular phone. We can use muggle technology that Voldemort doesn't even know about. Death Eaters would consider it beneath them to even think of using muggle stuff."

"OK, that's a start." Harry mused. "Here's what I'm thinking. I need to disappear. That way I can concentrate on what I need to do with no distractions. It will also make me harder to find if he catches on to what I'm doing."

"What _we're_ doing, Harry!" Hermione insisted. Deep inside, Harry knew she was right. He would need Ron's and especially Hermione's help, but he didn't want to put her in danger.

Suddenly Hermione had an idea. "Harry, we can hide as muggles! We can find a muggle place to stay and even if he finds out, he wouldn't be able to do anything about it. There's no way he could find us. Can you see Death Eaters willing to use muggle money, or read a map, or look through property records? Even then we would use fake names, and disguise ourselves by coloring our hair and stuff."

"Yeah, I think that might work," exclaimed Harry.

"What about me?" asked Ron.

"Sorry, Ron, I don't think you can pass for a muggle," said Harry consolingly. "You can be our contact in the wizarding world, though. Stay with your parents, at least until the wedding, and try to keep up on everything that's happening in the wizarding world. We'll be cut off for a while."

"We can't use owls, either," mused Hermione. "How can we communicate?"

"I've got it! Mirrors!" shouted Harry. The other two gave him blank looks. "Last year Sirius had a pair of mirrors that he and my dad used to use to talk to each other. He gave me one and kept one." He looked down guiltily. I didn't even know what it was until after the Department of Mysteries. If I'd known I had it I wouldn't have needed to use Umbridge's floo." Hermione grabbed his arm and rubbed his shoulder sympathetically. "When I found it I smashed mine. I still have the pieces. I wonder what happened to his. Maybe it's still at Grimmauld Place. I guess we'll have to stop there and look for it."

"Wait!" Ron blurted out. "Why don't you get Kreacher to get it? If you give him a direct order, he has to do it even if he doesn't want to."

Harry called for Kreacher, and just as before he appeared with a crack. With a lot of grumbling and mumbled curses he left for Grimmauld Place. Harry dug into his trunk and retrieved the broken pieces of the mirror from the bottom. Hermione repaired it with a Reparo charm, and within a few minutes Kreacher was back with the other mirror. Unfortunately, they didn't work. Ron called Harry's name into the one that had been Sirius's and Harry called Ron's name into his. Harry even tried calling Sirius's name into his.

"I guess they only work for a specific pair of people," said Harry glumly.

"Wait, did you say your dad and Sirius made these in school?" asked Ron. "This sounds like something Fred and George would do. Maybe if we give these to them they can figure them out and make some for us."

"Great idea, Ron. In fact, that would be a good place for you to spend the summer. If you got a job with them you could keep in touch with what's going on, get good stuff for us to use, and you can get away easier if we need you to join us."

Crack! Before Harry could say any more Dobby appeared. "Kreacher has been to see Harry Potter. Harry Potter should ask for help from Dobby instead of bad elf Kreacher."

Suddenly Harry had an inspiration. "Dobby! Would you like to come and stay with me this summer and help me?"

"Help Harry Pottter?" squeaked Dobby. "Dobby would be honored to help Harry Potter. Harry Potter is a great wizard."

"Dobby can get us things we need, and he can take messages back and forth for us!" Harry exclaimed, turning to the other two. "He will be a great help." Turning to Dobby, he said. "We won't be ready for you to stay with us just yet, but we'll call you when we need you, OK?"

Dobby nodded eagerly. "Dobby will do whatever Harry Potter needs."

Turning toward the others, Harry continued, "OK, here's what we have so far. I'll go with Hermione to her house. From there, we'll set up the hideout, then move in. Hermione, your parents will be in danger. Can we get them to go into hiding?"

"I hope so. We often go on holiday in the summer. Maybe we can get them to take an extended holiday somewhere far away." Hermione considered this plan, then thought of another problem. "Harry, what about your aunt and uncle?"

"They might not even be at the station. Since we're more than two weeks early, they might not even know we're coming back If the school sent an owl, they'd probably refuse to read the message." Harry thought for a moment. "If they are there, we can give them a note telling them I'm going with Hermione and I'll come to their house at the normal time. Keep the Order members away from them and just have Hermione go up to them so they don't make a scene. She'll be dressed like a muggle by then. I'm going to put on my invisibility cloak. I'll disappear even before I get off the train." Harry snorted, "This sounds like the way I ended up the trip to Hogwarts last fall. I was in my invisibility cloak and nobody even noticed I wasn't there. Well, I'm going to be more careful this time. When everyone's off the train, I'll get off and follow you towards your parents' car, Hermione. You can figure out a way to stall a little, and tell your parents what's going on after you're away from everyone. Just don't leave until I get there."

"We need to tell someone from the Order," Ron pointed out. "They'll go nutters when you don't show up."

"Yeah, that will be a problem. We'll need to tell at least one of them what we're doing. Who can we trust?" Harry mused. "Remus I think. He's my last link to my parents. If I can't trust him …"

"Then Tonks, too," Hermione added.

"OK. She might also be able to help us improve our dueling skills. How can we get in touch with them?"

"I think they're somewhere on the train," Hermione answered.

"Dobby will get them," piped up the little elf. With that he vanished.

"When is the wedding?" Harry asked Ron.

"July 12"

"That's four weeks from today. Let's figure about two weeks at Hermione's house and the hideout, and two weeks at the Dursleys. That's how long I stayed there last summer, so that should be enough to renew the protection until the end of July."

There was a knock on the door and Dobby reappeared to tell them that Remus and Tonks were outside. They unsealed the door and let them in. For the next half hour they explained their plan, leaving out the details about the Horcruxes, but persuading them that Harry had a critical task to complete from Dumbledore. Remus and Tonks were initially very reluctant to agree, but eventually gave in when they received assurances that they would be kept informed of the teens' activities, and would be allowed to assist when possible.

The value of having extra help became clear immediately. Tonks reminded them that it would be difficult to hide completely because people could still send them owls. She revealed that Aurors use a little known owl diversion charm when they're working undercover. She showed the charm to Harry and Hermione, and not surprisingly Hermione picked it up immediately. They decided to put it on Harry right away, but to wait to put it on Hermione until they moved into the hideout, since she wouldn't actually be in hiding until then. Tonks then explained that it would work for unknown owls, but that Hedwig and possibly Pigwidgeon would still be able to find Harry. They also needed to decide an alternative location for owls to take messages intended for them. For Aurors this was usually the ministry, but since Harry was hiding from the ministry too, that wouldn't work for them. Finally they decided to have their owl post go to the Burrow, and Tonks modified the charm accordingly. With that detail taken care of, Remus and Tonks both gave Harry a quick hug and told him to be careful and the two adults left to begin spreading the word to the other Order members.

Harry took his invisibility cloak and put it aside, then took his photo album and Firebolt and a few other items from his trunk and gave them to Hermione. "Can you fit these in your trunk? I'm not going to be able to carry mine too easily under the invisibility cloak, and I don't need much of this stuff during the summer. None of my muggle clothes fit me anyway, so I'd just as soon get some new stuff. Can we go shopping first thing?"

Hermione nodded and started fitting in Harry's few possessions. She shrunk the Firebolt while Ron winced, and crammed it on top, just barely being able to close the trunk.

"Blimy, Hermione, be careful with that," Ron protested. What on earth do you have that takes up so much room in your trunk anyway?"

"I have a lot of books I need during the summer," Hermione retorted indignantly. Harry and Ron grinned at each other while she wasn't looking.

Harry stroked Hedwig soothingly and asked her to go to the Burrow for the summer with Ron. She appeared to look at him thoughtfully, then nodded her head and nipped his fingers lightly. Hermione decided that she would give Crookshanks to Ginny for the summer, and this gave her a chance to go to Ginny's compartment and let her know not to worry when Harry didn't get off the train.

"Ginny?" Hermione stuck her head into the compartment. Neville had joined her, and Luna was still there, but otherwise the compartment was empty. Hermione relaxed a little. "I'm sorry I didn't think to ask sooner, but with everything that happened it just slipped my mind but ..." Hermione appeared to be rattled, then took a deep breath to calm herself down. "What I mean is, my parents and I are going on holiday for the whole summer and I can't take Crookshanks with me and I was hoping you could take him home with you for the summer?" She finished with a rush and stood there panting slightly, with a hopeful look on her face.

Ginny briefly had a puzzled expression on her face, which slowly turned to a smile. "Of course Hermione, I'd love to have Crookshanks. I've always wanted a cat like him, and I'm sure Ron would love to have him at the Burrow." Both girls burst out laughing. Ron's annoyance with Hermione's cat was almost legendary in Gryffindor House.

Ginny suddenly stood up and reached out to hug Hermione, saying, "Oh, we'll miss seeing you this summer, but have a nice time," and then in a low voice directly into Hermione's ear, "nice acting job Granger. If saving the world doesn't work out, you can always try your luck in the theater."

Hermione started for an instant, then pulled back and grinned at Ginny and nodded, "I'll miss you too. And you too Crookshanks." She gave her cat one last hug and handed him to Ginny. Crookshanks glared at her reproachfully, then turned his back on her as though insulted and purred at Ginny. Fortunately, Ginny was his second favorite human, and the Burrow had lots of fun places to explore and small animals to catch.

Hermione returned to Harry and Ron and reported that all had gone well and that clever Ginny had figured it out immediately. Meanwhile, Harry had asked Dobby to take his trunk with all of his school things still in it back to Gryffindor tower, and assured the elf that he'd call for him whenever he needed him. Finally they were ready.

-----

Everything went surprisingly well. Ron and Ginny got off first and quickly pulled aside their parents and let them know not to look for Harry. Remus and Tonks got to Moody and the other Order members, and they gradually dispersed into the crowd. As Harry had expected, the Dursleys weren't at the station, so Hermione made a show of saying goodbye to Ron and Ginny for the summer, then pulled her parents aside and began talking quickly as they walked slowly to their car. The only unforeseen development was that there were a number of reporters waiting at the station to interview the students. They were disappointed at not being able to find Harry Potter, but quickly gave up and talked to the other students before they all moved off.

Hermione's father helped her put her trunk in the boot, then got into the car with her mother as Hermione took her time getting into the back seat. Finally Hermione got in and nodded to her dad. He looked into the rear view mirror, grinned and said, "I've read that lots of intelligent children have imaginary friends when they're little. I guess my daughter really _does_ have an invisible friend."

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	2. Meet the Grangers

**Disclaimer**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment. As far as I'm concerned, the characters of Dan and Emma were created by Old Crow. I borrowed the description of the Granger house from his story, 'No Thanks'.

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**Chapter 2, Meet the Grangers**

Dan and Emma Granger were an affluent professional couple. Both dentists, they owned their own practice and had built it up over the years until it was very successful. They owned a lovely home in Crawley, in Oxfordshire about an hour's drive west of London, and two luxury automobiles which currently were BMW's. Their home was a five bedroom, three level brick house with a spacious kitchen, dining room, family area, and a study on the first floor. It was exquisitely decorated, and was a house that would have made Petunia Dursley green with envy. It had an attached car park that held both cars and had once also held a boat. In the back garden there was a pool, a small flowerbed, a fire pit, and an open area. The back was bounded by trees, bushes and hedges so that it was quite private, which Emma particularly enjoyed as she loved to swim and sunbathe.

Dan and Emma had met at University and become great friends. As frequently happens, the friendship turned to love and they were married during their first year of dental school. They spend many years building up their practice so that when they had a daughter Emma was able to reduce her schedule to spend a lot of time at home with her. Having taken time to build up the practice, Emma was in her 30's when her daughter was born. Due to complications during the pregnancy they had decided not to have any more children, and had devoted themselves to their only child. During the summer when their daughter was home from school, Emma worked about half time and Dan worked about three quarter time.

Like many professionals, the Grangers enjoyed taking long holidays, regularly traveling to the continent for a month during the summer, and also taking a winter holiday at Christmas time. Believing travel to be educational, they had taken their daughter to many of the museums and historic sites in Europe, and she spoke three languages. As their daughter got older, she began to prefer the beach holidays, so their recent summer trips had been to the South of France.

Dan was something of a technophile. His study contained an entertainment system that was the envy of his friends. He had a wide screen TV with both VCR and DVD players. This was combined with a stereo system with surround sound which included a turntable for his old albums as well as a cassette deck and a five-disk CD player. He had something like six different remotes before he finally found a universal remote that would control everything.

He also had a computer system that he upgraded regularly. He currently had a Pentium running Windows 95 and was looking forward to an even faster Pentium with Windows 98. He had the highest speed modem made, with a dedicated phone line. He eagerly awaited the high speed internet connection he had read about, DSL, but it was not yet available in his area. Emma was frequently heard muttering about his toys. He was a living example of the phrase, "the only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys."

Emma loved her back garden. She spent a lot of time with her flowerbed, and it looked like it could have been on a magazine cover. They had a nice table and chair set on the patio and customarily ate lunch outside during the summer, and Dan occasionally grilled for supper. She was an avid swimmer and sunbather, and on their trips to the continent had picked up the custom of topless sunbathing which the privacy of their pool made possible at home. They had raised their daughter to be comfortable with her body, and when she was home during the summer she joined Emma in sunbathing topless. They were aware of the dangers of skin cancer, and were careful to not overdo it. Both brunettes, they tanned relatively easily, and they used plenty of sunscreen to keep it to a light tan. Since their daughter had begun to develop a nice figure, she had started wearing quite tiny bikinis. Her most recent purchase had included a thong bottom. While Emma had kept herself in good shape, and looked fine in a bikini, she was now fifty years old and didn't think she would ever try a thong herself. She had to admit that it had looked great on her sixteen-year-old daughter the summer before.

Dan and Emma were active in the British Dental Society, and attended conferences regularly. They kept abreast of the latest techniques of their profession and occasionally gave talks at regional meetings. They had several close friends, some from their university days and some from Dan's military service, with whom they got together for dinner at times. They enjoyed each other's company the most, however, and were still each other's best friends.

All in all, Dan and Emma would have appeared to be a typical successful professional couple. There was one thing about their life, however, that was anything but typical.

Their daughter was a witch.

Their daughter Hermione was a brilliant student, excelling in all her classes. While her parents were very proud of her academic accomplishments, they worried that she had few friends. Her superior intelligence, combined with some unusual incidents, led to other children avoiding her. As a result, Hermione retreated into her books, becoming a voracious reader. By the time she was ten years old, she had no friends at all and her parents were becoming very concerned.

Then came a visit from a very unusual woman, and they learned what really made Hermione different. While they were reluctant to have her leave home for ten months a year, they realized that she would be happier with others who shared her special abilities, and they hoped that she would finally be able to make some friends.

In her first letter home, Hermione had been very excited, and had mentioned meeting a boy who was very famous in the wizarding world. Unfortunately her subsequent letters were more and more depressing, and it began to seem once again that Hermione could not make any friends. Dan and Emma knew that she had developed a know-it-all attitude which covered up her massive insecurity, and which manifested itself in her desperate feeling that she had to answer every question, and get a perfect score on every test. They were certain that this characteristic was responsible for her inability to get close to other students.

Then everything changed. Soon after Halloween they received a much more upbeat letter that related how Hermione was now friends with the famous boy and another boy. Although they were uncomfortable with the part about being in danger from a troll, they were glad that their daughter's life was looking much better.

During the next four years they continued to hear about adventures involving these two boys. The famous one, Harry, seemed to consistently be at the center of everything. Apparently things just always happened to him. Although it seemed to them that these adventures involved more danger than they would have liked, and they would have preferred that Hermione also have friends who were girls, they were overall happy that she had such good friends. They were surprised when there was a ball during Hermione's fourth year that she did not attend with either of her two friends, and they got the impression that Hermione was not too thrilled about that either. They were definitely uneasy that she had attended the ball with a foreign exchange student who was three years older than her, and that he had invited her to visit him in Bulgaria the following summer, but they resolved to trust her judgment. They were secretly relieved when she declined the invitation and decided to be long distance friends with him.

More recently, there were several things that had them disturbed. Hermione was spending less and less time at home during the holidays. Several times she had not come home during the Christmas break, two summers ago she had only been home half the summer, and last summer she had only been home two weeks. According to Emma, she had developed a crush on one of her friends, Ron, and it was at his home that she spent six weeks the previous year. Emma wasn't sure she liked that idea, but apparently Harry had been there too, and Hermione had written her with disappointment that nothing had happened with Ron.

Emma was somewhat surprised that Ron was the one Hermione had set her sights on rather than Harry. From her letters, it seemed that Harry was nicer to her than Ron was, and she considered him a better friend. She was constantly reading about yet another row with Ron, some of which seemed rather nasty. She knew that Hermione had self-esteem issues socially, and hoped that she wasn't getting involved in an abusive relationship. During her unexpected visit home for Christmas break, it was clear that the relationship that Hermione had hoped to have with Ron was not going well.

Finally, Dan and Emma were very concerned about the serious injury that Hermione had sustained at the end of the previous school year, and the news that the wizarding world was at war. Hermione had assured them that she was safe at Hogwarts, but now that assurance was dubious at best, since their headmaster had been killed by the school's chemistry professor and the place had closed two and a half weeks early. Dan idly wondered how a chemistry professor would kill someone. The chemistry professors he had known seemed to be inordinately fond of explosions.

In this light, they had been thrilled when Hermione had quietly told them that her friend Harry wanted to come home with her and visit them. They definitely wanted to get to know this boy who had such an impact on their daughter's life. They were of course curious about why it had to be such a secret that he was going to sneak into their car while invisible, and were eagerly awaiting the explanation. Dan was the first to speak, and as usual he found a humorous comment to break the ice.

"I guess my daughter really _does_ have an invisible friend."

They all laughed and Harry pulled off the invisibility cloak and set it on the seat as Hermione began, "Mum, Dad this is my best friend Harry Potter. Harry, these are my mum and dad, Dan and Emma …" Hermione faltered as she noticed her parents staring at Harry and not listening to a word she was saying. _OK, I know he's famous and all and the scar does look strange but you'd think …_

"How did you do that?" asked Emma, interrupting Hermione's internal scolding. Dan chimed in, "It was like you just pulled yourself out of thin air!"

"Oh, that's my invisibility cloak. It's come in handy quite a few times," Harry explained, sharing a look with Hermione as they remembered some of those times. "Look, it makes anything it covers invisible, but whatever isn't covered you can still see. He put the cloak over Hermione's head, which promptly disappeared, leaving a headless Hermione sitting in the back seat.

"Hey, that's an improvement," teased Dan. Hermione whipped off the cloak and glared at him, then at Harry as he tried to stifle a chortle. Emma just smiled, grateful for the playful banter that came so easily to her family. Harry, not sure how to take it, and hoping Hermione wasn't too mad, interjected, "There was one time I was wearing it and it slipped off my head, so it looked like a head floating around. Scared Malfoy to death."

"Gee, Harry, that wouldn't be the time you were supposed to stay in the castle for your own safety and snuck out anyway, would it?" Hermione said sternly.

"Oops." Now he'd done it. If Hermione wasn't mad before, she probably was now. _Not exactly the best first impression you're making on your best friend's parents, Potter._

Emma watched the interplay between the two friends with interest. She knew that Hermione hadn't been mad at Dan as she was used to his teasing. She wondered what Harry's home life had been like that he hadn't realized that. She was curious at the mixture of gallantry and awkwardness he had shown as he rushed in to 'rescue' his friend from the presumed insult, but in so doing had inadvertently brought up something that he was embarrassed about. She was also curious to see how Hermione would handle it, knowing that she wouldn't want her friend to feel bad during his first meeting with her parents. And she could tell from the unhappy expression on Harry's face that that was exactly what was happening.

Hermione had realized all this even before Emma, what with six years of experience at reading Harry's feelings. She decided on the direct approach and leaned over and hugged the surprised teen.

"Harry, we're just teasing. Dad was teasing me and I was teasing you. But thank you for trying to make me feel better," she said, leaning back and smiling at him. Harry was confused, but decided that this was a much better outcome than anything he had expected so he kept quiet and smiled back.

"Actually, Harry and I _have_ had quite a few adventures around the castle with that cloak." And Hermione launched into a few tales of some of the less dangerous ones, with Harry soon joining in. Dan smiled at Emma and started the car and eased out of the parking lot.

For the rest of the ride home as Harry got more comfortable with the Grangers, he began telling them about himself, with Hermione jumping in with details whenever she thought he was leaving something out, so that the Grangers gradually got to know him better. Hermione waxed on about Harry's quidditch exploits, much to Harry's embarrassment. They related many humorous episodes of Magical Creatures class, and mishaps during Charms and Transfigurations. Harry made it clear that Hermione was _always_ the first to learn anything, while she blushed and countered that he could have learned them as easily if he paid more attention in class.

As they told their stories they lightened them up a little. The story of the Chamber was a detective story where they gradually figured out the clues, and ended with the simple statement that Harry had gone down into the chamber and killed the basilisk, omitting the part about the diary. They told about getting rid of Norbert, and about flying Buckbeak to save Harry's godfather who had been falsely accused of a crime, leaving out the part about the dementors.

When describing the tasks of the Triwizard Tournament Harry caused Emma and Dan to raise their eyebrows and Hermione to blush furiously when he mentioned that Hermione had been the hostage for Viktor Krum. Apparently she had somehow left that part out when she had told her parents about Viktor two years earlier. They also omitted quite a bit about the ending of the tournament. There were relatively few stories about the two most recent years. Hermione insisted on relating Harry's disastrous date with Cho leading into the interview with Rita Skeeter (payback for his revelation about Viktor). Harry then recalled meeting Hagrid's brother Grawp and how he called her Hermy. The Grangers roared at this while Hermione turned scarlet. Hermione had refused to ever let anyone shorten her name. She indignantly pointed out that there wasn't much she could do about a 20-foot tall giant. Harry finished with the tale of Ron and the love potion, concluding with the disastrous quidditch match in which he had been knocked out by his own keeper and bringing the Grangers nearly into hysterics. With a shared look, Harry and Hermione had silently come to an agreement with each other to hold off the more serious discussion for later.

To say that they were impressed with this young man was an understatement. While it was clear that he was very brave and extremely loyal to his friends, he was also modest to a fault. They soon realized that although he was indeed one of the most famous wizards in Britain (the evidence of which was provided entirely by Hermione since he never mentioned it himself) he was not at all arrogant or stuck up about it but as down to earth as could be. They could quickly see that Hermione had made an excellent choice in having him as a friend. It was at this point that they arrived back home, unpacked the car and took Harry in to show him around.

Harry was amazed at the Granger's house. He had no idea that Hermione's family was so well off. When he thought about it, he realized that he'd never known much about her life outside Hogwarts, and that was about to change dramatically.

For someone who usually had something to say about just about everything, Hermione had been unusually reticent about her home life. This was likely due to the unfortunate situations of her best friends. The Weasleys had always struggled financially, and Ron was quite sensitive about it, while Harry had plenty of money in the wizarding world but was apparently kept destitute in the muggle world by his aunt and uncle. One of the first things they were going to do was change that. A shopping spree was definitely high on the list.

The tour of the house ended in the backyard. Harry was impressed that Mrs. Granger's garden was even prettier than Aunt Petunia's and thought that the pool looked interesting. The only time he had ever been swimming had been during the second task of the triwizard tournament, and he was looking forward to trying it here. He didn't understand, though, why Hermione blushed slightly when she told him that she thought he'd really enjoy the pool.

Since it was late they proceeded immediately to dinner. While Hermione was showing Harry around, Emma had ordered Chinese takeout, and Dan had gone off to pick it up. He returned shortly after they came back inside from looking at the pool, and after getting some drinks they all sat down to eat.

As they ate, the Grangers took their turn to tell him about themselves. Adhering to the duty of parents everywhere, they told him embarrassing stories about Hermione that had her wanting to crawl under the table. Harry really enjoyed the one about how Hermione asked so many questions in school that it made her teachers want to pull their hair out. He teased her by asking her if she had ever gotten an answer as to why the sky was blue. She responded with a perfectly serious expression, "Oh, it's obvious. It's magic," which made everyone burst out laughing.

Harry couldn't help but contrast the Grangers to the Dursleys. This was a family who was nice to each other, laughed a lot, and generally had a good time together. Amazingly, at least to his mind, they seemed to like him even though he was a total stranger. He was unaware that he was actually no stranger to them. Hermione had talked more about him than anything else about school, and between that and what they had witnessed and heard this evening they felt they knew him quite well.

After dinner Harry immediately leapt up and started clearing the table and taking things to the kitchen in preparation for doing the dishes. He couldn't help himself; this behavior had been instilled in him for years under threats of beatings. The Grangers sat and stared open-mouthed. Why was one of the most famous wizards in Britain acting like a busboy? Was this kid for real? Hermione recovered first. She had a pretty good idea how Harry had got into this habit, as she had heard about his life at the Dursleys. She moved into the kitchen to help Harry and Emma quickly followed, then Dan. Emma gently let Harry know that cleaning up was not his sole responsibility, and that they would all share in the chores.

After they finished they moved into the family room and settled on the couches, Dan and Emma on one and Harry and Hermione on the other. Everyone knew that it was time for a serious discussion. Harry and Hermione looked at one another, and Hermione began. "There are some things happening in the wizard world, actually have been happening for two years now, that you need to know about. You've probably figured out that I've been keeping some things from you, but this is getting deadly serious and we're going to be completely honest with you. Harry and I have decided what we have to do and we hope that we can convince you to support us in this decision."

Beginning with the ending of the Triwizard Tournament that he had glossed over earlier, Harry described the rebirth of Voldemort, the disbelief of Minister Fudge, and the frustrations of their fifth year when few had believed him. Hermione described the horrible teaching of Umbridge and the decision to start the DA. They went into more detail when they got to the story of the vision, the confrontation in Umbridge's office, the flight to the Ministry and the Department of Mysteries, finding the prophesy, and the running battle that ensued. The Grangers were impressed that the two of them had taken out half of the Death Eaters. Harry grabbed hold of Hermione's hand as she described getting hit with Dolohov's curse. Harry then quietly described the remainder of the fight and Sirius's fall through the veil. Hermione scooted over and pulled him into a hug while his body shook with silent sobs.

Emma came over to Harry to add to Hermione's hug, then Dan broke the silence. "This seems like a good time to take a break. What can I get everyone to drink?"

Hermione turned to her father with a grateful expression on her face and said, "Lemonade for us, Dad, but you and Mum feel free to have whatever you like." She knew that her dad would prefer a beer, but wasn't sure if Harry had ever had one.

"Wine for me, dear," said Emma looking up from Harry. Dan nodded and left the room.

Harry couldn't believe how they were treating him after what he had just told them. "I don't think you understand. Why are you being so nice to me?" he said with his head down. "I just told you I nearly got Hermione killed!"

The Granger women were having none of that. "Harry, don't say that!" said Hermione, grabbing his head and forcing him to look up at her. "You made the best decision you could with the information you had available."

Emma added, "What I heard was that your leadership amazingly kept six children alive against twelve killers."

Hermione went on, "Harry, you listened to everything I said and went along with my suggestions to verify what you saw in your vision. You tried all the things I could think of and you didn't force any of us to go along with you. You wanted to leave us behind and we insisted on accompanying you. You didn't lead us into danger, we followed you willingly. But you did lead us out of the danger we found ourselves in."

By this time Dan had returned. He passed two glasses of lemonade to Hermione, a glass of wine to Emma and settled into his chair with a pint of beer for himself. "Harry, a good leader makes the best decision he can with the information available. Sometimes things go wrong, but you don't second guess yourself for making the decision. You analyze what went wrong and use that to make a better decision next time."

Harry accepted the lemonade from Hermione and nodded. He couldn't believe how wonderful this family was. He became even more determined to keep them safe.

Harry continued the story with Dumbledore's lessons and learning about the Horcruxes, considerately leaving out the part about Hermione not believing him about Malfoy, and the unpleasantness between her and Ron during the year. He told about his two meetings with Minister of Magic Scrimgeour and Hermione described checking the paper every day for news of the latest disappearance. They related their separate accounts of the night that Dumbledore was killed, Harry and Hermione both learning some things that they had not previously heard. They paused at this point to drink some more of their lemonade and answered questions and requests for clarifications from the Grangers.

Finally they moved on to the conversation the three of them had had that morning. They reiterated their determination to finish the work that Harry and Dumbledore had started and reviewed the plans that they had made so far. The Grangers were impressed at the thought that had gone into the disappearance scheme, and that it had gone so smoothly. They could see the advantage to Harry to disappear from the wizarding world for a while so that he could conduct his search in secret, but were troubled by his decision to take Hermione along with him. When they voiced these concerns Hermione responded with a ferocity that they had never seen from her. She let them know in no uncertain terms that she had _insisted_ on being a part of Harry's quest, and that she absolutely would not hear of anything to the contrary. She knew beyond a doubt that Harry needed her, that he unquestionably could not do this without her, and with or without their blessing she would be in this with him to the bitter end. When she finished she was shaking with emotion and Harry had put his arm around her. After a quick look of astonishment at Dan, Emma came over and put her arm around Hermione from the other side.

When Hermione had calmed down, Dan spoke up. In a quiet, calming voice he said, 'kids, it's getting late. You've given us a lot to think about and we truly appreciate that you've shared all this with us. We understand how difficult it was for you to talk about, especially you, Harry, telling such painful information to near strangers. I think we should sleep on this and we can continue our discussion tomorrow." As they stood up and Emma collected up the glasses he continued, "Hermione, Harry, I want you to know how proud we both are of you and what you've done. We have the greatest respect for you and what you're doing." He moved over to his daughter and caught her up in a big hug, and to Harry's surprise Emma gave _him_ a hug. Emma then went over to hug Hermione and Dan and Harry walked to the stairs.

As Emma went up with Hermione to her room, Dan escorted Harry to his room. At the door Dan stopped and held out his hand, saying, "Harry, it's been an honor to meet you. You have no idea how much you've done for Hermione the last six years. Thank you for being her friend."

Harry responded, "Thank you sir. It's been an honor for me to meet you and Mrs. Granger as well. It's become obvious to me that you two are the main reason that Hermione is the special person that she is. I couldn't have a better friend." With that, they bid each other good night, Harry called out good night down the hall to Hermione and Emma, and they retired into their respective rooms.

As Harry prepared for bed he reflected on all that had happened that day. He could not believe that this was still the same day that had started with the funeral of Albus Dumbledore. So much had happened; so many life-changing decisions had been made in the last twelve hours. Could he possibly have foreseen when he got up this morning that he would be going to bed that night at the Grangers' house? Exhausted, he fell asleep almost immediately.

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	3. Initial Preparations

Disclaimer 

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment. Certain lines or scenes in this story are inspired by other fanfics I have read. I will try to give credit to those authors when that happens.

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**Chapter 3, Initial Preparations**

Sunday, June 15, 1997

On Sunday morning Harry accompanied the Grangers to church services. Since he had nothing appropriate to wear, Dan had loaned him a nice shirt and pants and a pair of dress shoes. Fortunately, he and Dan were nearly the same size. Harry knew that the Dursleys were members of a church, but he suspected that it was only for appearances sake since they hardly ever attended. On those occasions he had been left at home, so this was his first time ever inside a church. Unlike the Dursleys, the Grangers seemed quite sincere about it all, and Harry found the minister's message interesting and enjoyed the singing. He was surprised that Hermione had a lovely singing voice. He decided that he had never heard her sing except during the school song at the beginning of each year, and that was such a bedlam that you couldn't really make out any individual voice.

On Sunday afternoon they planned to go shopping. Harry hesitantly asked if he could borrow some muggle money, assuring them that he would pay them back as soon as he could get to Gringott's. Emma initially told him not to worry, that it would be their treat, but Harry was so insistent that she let it drop. Harry quickly changed and hurried to the kitchen to help with lunch. When Hermione came down a little later wearing a spaghetti strap tank top and shorts he looked at her in surprise. Harry thought that Hermione's clothing revealed an amazing amount of skin. He certainly didn't remember her dressing like that at the Burrow last summer. Hermione pointed out to him that wizards generally dressed very conservatively, and she covered up more when she was with the Weasleys, but when she was living as a muggle she dressed as a muggle. Later when they went shopping Harry saw that other girls were dressed similarly, or even more outrageously. He saw more bare midriffs and piercings than he thought were possible. Some of the girls' outfits made him think of his friend Tonks. He wondered if the young Auror had any piercings. He would have to ask Hermione about that sometime.

Their shopping trip was a sales clerk's dream. They essentially outfitted Harry from scratch, buying some of absolutely everything. Dress and casual shoes, pants, and shirts, socks, underwear, a few ties, and a couple of jumpers and sweatshirts. Hermione also got workout clothes for him and for herself and had him pick out a swimsuit. In addition to the baggy one that Harry picked out, Hermione made him get a couple of racing style ones. In response to the startled expression on his face she simply replied that these were better for swimming laps, which was good for conditioning. She would have liked to pick out another bikini for herself, but refrained, reasoning that Harry was embarrassed enough. She could always get one another day.

- - - - -

Dan and Emma had engaged in a serious conversation while Harry and Hermione were out shopping. Their daughter was not the only intelligent one in the family, and they were fairly certain where last night's discussion had been heading. They wanted to see if they could come to an agreement before the teens returned. From reading between the lines of Hermione's frequent letters, and from things she said during her stays at home, they were aware of the prejudice against muggleborns in the wizarding world, and that Hermione was facing not just discrimination, but outright loathing from the so-called purebloods. The monster that they had heard about last night followed the same strategy as despots like Hitler, who rallied supporters by fanning the flames of ethnic hatred. By her very existence, Hermione would be a prime target to be killed, whether she was with Harry or not. Every instinct they had told them to take Hermione and run as fast and as far as possible. But they knew, especially after last night, that Hermione would refuse to come with them and nothing would change her mind. It was a mixture of unabashed admiration for her character and overwhelming fear for her life that filled their minds as they contemplated their daughter's decision. It was clear to them what the children's plan for them would be. (No, they had to stop thinking of them as children. From what they heard last night, they had not been children for some time.) They were going to be asked to leave the county, leaving their daughter behind, for their own safety. The question was, were they going to do it? It was frustrating, but they had to concede that in this war they were powerless, they were actually the helpless infants and Harry and Hermione were the concerned parents trying to protect them. They made their decision. If there was anything they could do, however insignificant, to help Hermione and Harry in this quest, they would do it. If the best thing they could do for them was give them peace of mind by leaving the country, they would swallow hard and do just that.

Once the decision had been made, their course of action began to fall into place. They would need to make arrangements for their practice. It was not unheard of for professionals like themselves to take a year off, to recharge their batteries or to further their education. It would be difficult, but not impossible. They would need to make arrangements for someone to take care of their house and property. That was easier. They already had a service that did just that during their month long holidays, they would just have to have it done for a whole year. They made a note that they would have to give the houseminder schedule to Hermione. She and Harry might want to stop by occasionally and wouldn't want anyone to know they were there. They already had a forwarding service for their post that they also used while on holiday so that was no problem. Finally, they needed to decide just where they wanted to go. They settled on North America. They had been to much of Europe, and had often talked of seeing Canada or the States. They would tour Canada during the summer months, then the States, gradually moving south as the weather turned colder. If they stayed through the winter, they would check out Mexico or some Caribbean Islands. They would stay flexible, making decisions as they went. They were veteran travelers after all and had plenty of experience with trips of that kind. The only problem with the plan was its cost. While they were comfortably well off, a trip of this magnitude would severely tax their resources.

With their own plans outlined, they turned their attention to how they might be able to help out. Harry had mentioned hiding out, and disguises. Emma would look into hair color products, correctly reasoning that they would prefer color that was easy to remove. Harry would undoubtedly want to hide his scar. Emma had a friend from University that had been in theatre productions; she would consult with her this week. Dan would look into renting a flat for their use; he would check with them to see how big they wanted it to be and start on it tomorrow. He winced as he thought about the additional expense, but they were resolved to do whatever it took. Emma thought they might want to do something about Harry's glasses. She would make an eye doctor appointment and see about contact lenses. After these decisions had been made they were feeling much better, now that they were contributing something to the effort.

At this point Harry and Hermione returned from their shopping spree. Dan and Emma were pleased to see that they were in a good mood; Hermione was teasing him about some of his purchases. If Harry could tolerate shopping with Hermione, they must have a very solid friendship!

"…and I still don't see why we had to look in _every_ store in the mall. Why couldn't we have just picked up everything at the first store?"

As they entered the room Hermione looked at Emma and rolled her eyes. "What is it about males and shopping? Harry's as bad as Dad." She turned to Dan and gave him a sweet smile, forestalling the retort he was preparing. Then she marched Harry to the middle of the room and started sorting through the packages. Dan and Emma glanced at each other and grinned. They knew what was coming. After every shopping trip that Hermione had ever been on, she had made a big production out of showing off her purchases. They wondered how Harry would react.

"Presenting, the new wardrobe of Harry (I only like dark colors) Potter." First, we have a lovely suit, in scintillating navy blue, perfect for boring meetings with lawyers or bankers." Hermione held up the suit against Harry, while he tried to scowl but failed. Her cheeriness was just too catching.

"Next, we have dress slacks, this time in black, navy, _and_ charcoal gray." Hermione held everything up in turn. "To go along with these we have a half dozen dress shirts in blue, white, and blue and white plaid. For a really bold fashion statement, we add in ties in red or red prints." Harry couldn't help smiling. She was enjoying this way too much.

"For our casual wear we have jeans in two colors, yes you guessed it – black and blue. But we also have Dockers in brown and khaki – a daring fashion leap for young Mr. Potter."

"And my arm is still sore from being twisted behind my back," chimed in Harry, now getting into the mood himself. Hermione giggled at him before she continued.

"Moving along to summer outdoor wear, we have two pairs each of jean shorts and khaki cargo shorts, with ten (yes ten!) casual shirts in blue and green solids and prints. And for our well-dressed male's feet, we have a pair of dress black shoes, a pair of brown Doc Martins, and a pair of beige deck shoes, plus two pairs of trainers. Going with the shoes we have a dozen pair of athletic socks and a dozen pair of dress socks, in black, blue, and brown." Hermione was on a roll now.

"And no male should be without fashionable undergarments of course, so we have five 3-packs of BVD's, _in assorted colors_." Hermione smirked at Harry, who had turned bright red. "And to conclude our presentation, a dozen T-shirts in black, white and blue plus," she hesitated a moment, "Mr. Potter's own signature line of slogan T-shirts!"

Here Hermione unwrapped three bright yellow T-shirts with dark brown lettering and held them up in front of Harry. The slogans were:

If Found Unconscious, Treat With Chocolate

Chocolate Is The Answer

What's The Question?

I'm Moody Without My Chocolate!

Dan and Emma broke into applause, laughing all the while, as Hermione curtseyed and Harry bowed. As they gathered up the clothing and returned it to the bags, Hermione added that Harry now also owned three swimsuits, and that they both had bought workout gear; track shorts and tank tops for him and stretch shorts and crop tops or sports bras for her.

"What, no swimsuit for Hermione?" teased Emma. "When was the last time you went shopping and didn't buy a swimsuit?" Hermione stuck out her tongue at her mother, and Emma with a gleam in her eye continued, "I'm sure Harry wouldn't have minded helping you pick one out." Hermione suddenly blushed and quickly became very busy picking up bags.

"Now remember," insisted Harry, "as soon as I can we have to go to Gringotts so I can get some money to repay you."

As they finished gathering up their bags, they noticed that Dan and Emma were standing patiently with expectant looks on their faces, so they quickly took their purchases up to their rooms. When they came back downstairs they headed back into the family room and resumed their positions from the night before.

Harry and Hermione were very uneasy. _How were they going to broach the next subject? How do you tell your parents to leave home?_ To their surprise Dan and Emma had not only figured out what they had been about to ask, but had also decided to acquiesce to their request. Furthermore, they had even thought about things that they could do to help _them_ out. For a change, Hermione was speechless. Smiling at her dumbstruck daughter, Emma outlined the decisions they had made, first with regard to their own plans, then those relating to how they could help out.

Harry just shook his head. _Did this kind of analytical and organizational ability run in families?_ He determined that these plans might be quite expensive, and quickly offered to pay for the Grangers' trip. Despite their concerns about finances the Grangers immediately refused his help. Harry just decided that he would find some way to help them out.

Enormously relieved, everyone agreed to continue the planning process over dinner.

"How can I help?" Harry offered immediately. "I can cook quite a few things."

Emma smiled at the polite boy. "Thank you Harry, that's very thoughtful, but we've already decided to order pizza." Emma was surprised at the disappointment on Harry's face. _Hmm, a man who actually likes to help out in the kitchen and cook? Hermione, you better snap this one up as soon as you can!_

"I didn't know you actually enjoyed cooking, Harry. I'll tell you what. Why don't you cook during the week on days that I have to work?" Harry agreed so eagerly that she had to struggle to keep from laughing. She raised her eyebrows at Hermione, and Hermione, figuring out what her mother was thinking, rolled her eyes back at her in the universal daughter language that said, _'Oh Mum!'_

By the time dinner was over they had come up with the following schedule:

Monday morning

Dan – contact houseminder service, contact mail service, contact real estate agent, go in to their office and initiate the process of arranging for other dentists to take over their patients.

Emma – make appointment with eye doctor, contact travel agent, contact her friend about makeup, check into hair color products.

Hermione and Harry – go to Gringotts, check in with Remus, Tonks, and Ron

Monday afternoon

Dan and Emma – see patients at their office

Harry and Hermione – teach Harry to swim, study, make supper

Harry decided that it would be a good time to call Dobby, and in an instant the little elf appeared. Harry introduced him to Dan and Emma and asked him to tell Remus and Tonks that they were doing fine and would like to talk to them tomorrow morning. He asked him to also give the same message to Ron, and see if Ron had any information for them.

Feeling like they had made some good progress, they all spent the rest of the evening teaching Harry to play euchre.

-----

Monday morning Dan headed off to the practice while Emma made some phone calls. As Harry and Hermione were finishing breakfast, Dobby appeared. He told them that Remus and Tonks would be by at 9:00 and handed them a message from Ron.

_Good to hear that all is going well. Having Dobby as a messenger is pretty cool – much faster than Pig. I've told the family as much as we decided they needed to know. Mum's not very happy about it, but Dad's not too bad. Fred and George are thrilled. They want to help you out any way they can. They went crazy over the mirrors. They said to tell you to drop in at their shop anytime. You can apparate directly into the back room, and no one will know you're there._

_Bill is working on a way for you to get into Gringotts without attracting attention. For some reason the goblins want to meet with you, but he won't say why. He'll let you know when he gets something set up. In the meantime he says to stay away from Gringotts. Fred and George say that if you need some gold in the meantime you can get some from them._

_I haven't contacted Charlie or Percy yet. I'm thinking of waiting until we can talk to Charlie in person instead of using an owl. If you think it's important you can send Dobby to him. We agreed to keep Percy out of the loop for now, right?_

_I won't be able to work at Fred and George's until after the wedding. There's just too much work to do here. Mom even wants them to close down and help us. It's times like this that it would really be nice to have a house elf (sorry Hermione)._

_Ginny has some news and wants to tell you herself. She's going to add to the bottom of this note._

_Ron_

_P.S Don't apparate to the Burrow when you come. We're putting up anti-apparation wards for better security. You have to apparate to the road and walk up the lane to the house._

The note continued in a more feminine handwriting.

_Hi Harry, I miss you! (you too, Hermione)_

_They decided to have us take our OWL's that we missed after all. (I'm sure Hermione will be happy to hear that!) We have to go to the Ministry to take them. They'll be the first two weeks of July so I'm spending all my time studying until then. Wish I had you here to help me study. (smile)_

_I can't wait to see you again at the wedding. You'd better be there or I'll come and hunt you down myself!_

_Love, _

_Ginny _

"Well, that was interesting," mused Hermione. "It sounds like Ron's been working hard. And that's good news about Ginny getting to take her OWL's. Oh stop that!" she scolded, noticing Harry rolling his eyes and pausing to hit him on the arm.

"I can almost guarantee you that you're the only student at Hogwarts who thinks it's good news that someone gets to take OWL's," teased Harry, ducking as she tried to hit him again.

"That's a good point about apparating," noted Harry once they had settled down again. Having a secret place to apparate to at Fred and George's gives us a secure entry to Diagon Alley. We should plan on having several of those."

"Well, my parents' backyard is secure. And our safe house when we get it will be one. How about the Dursley's?"

"I don't think they'd be thrilled with people suddenly popping into their living room. Maybe my bedroom. I'd only want to use it as a last resort. How about Grimauld Place?"

"I'm not sure what the status of that is. Is it still under the Fidelius charm? Dumbledore was the secret keeper and he's dead. Plus, Snape knows about it. Has the order even been using it this year? I'm going to have to research Fidelius charms and ownership transfers." Hermione was clearly slipping into research mode and Harry decided to head her off.

"OK, maybe that's a project for later. In the meantime we have to get ready for Remus and Tonks. I wonder what the goblins want."

"I don't know but that means we have to put off our trip to Gringotts," Hermione pointed out. "What shall we do this morning instead?"

"Let's wait until we see what Remus and Tonks have to say. Are we going to tell them about the Horcruxes?"

"I think we should. They might have an idea of who RAB was, or where else Voldemort might have hidden some. Here they are now."

Remus and Tonks did indeed have useful information. Tonks informed them that the ministry had not noticed Harry's absence, and was not searching for him. They were currently in a panic about Dumbledore's death, worrying about where the Death Eaters would attack next.

Remus had an idea about why the goblins were interested in Harry. "You have some estates to make decisions about." At Harry's surprised look he explained further, "you inherited more from Sirius than the house. There's a Black family vault that's yours now, and no one can get into it until you take possession. The same is true with the house, actually. You have to take possession. No one has been able to get in since last summer. In case you're wondering, the Fidelius charm ended with Dumbledore's death. So everyone knows where it is now but no one can get into it."

"Ohhhh." Harry turned to Hermione and leaned back, knowing she was about to launch into explanation mode. "That's why we've been able to say 'Grimmauld Place.' If the Fidelius charm was still working we wouldn't be able say it out loud."

"Kreacher could get in," Harry pointed out. "I sent him to look for the mirror."

"Kreacher is Black family property," Remus explained. "He's actually part of the house." Harry winced at these words; he didn't want Hermione to go off on a rant about house elves.

Remus continued before Hermione could say anything. "There's also a Potter family vault that you'll inherit next month when you turn seventeen. The vault you're using now is just a trust vault for your use until you come of age."

Harry nodded. He hadn't thought of that, but it made sense. "Just how big of an estate are we talking about?"

"Well, the Blacks and the Potters were both established wizard families. I imagine the estates are pretty big. Let's put it this way. With the Black and Potter estates combined you'll be one of the richest if not the richest seventeen year old wizard in Britain.

Harry just sat dumbfounded, so Hermione decided to lighten the mood. "Harry, this will probably get you on Witch Weekly's 10 Most Eligible Wizards list," she simpered in a high pitched voice, batting her eyelashes at him. Harry glared and threw a couch pillow at her, and Tonks roared with laughter.

Remus explained a little more about estates and they discussed their need to learn more offensive and defensive spells and practice their dueling. Remus and Tonks agreed to come to visit on alternate days, Remus to teach them spells and Tonks to work on dueling. They all agreed that communicating through Dobby was working well, and Harry mentioned how helpful the Grangers were being, which earned him a grateful smile from Hermione. With all the other things they had to discuss, they never got around to talking about Horcruxes.

-----

After Remus and Tonks had gone, Harry decided to take a risk and bring up something that had been on his mind since reading Ron's letter. "Hermione, I've been thinking about what Ron said about needing a house elf."

Hermione glared at him. "Harry Potter, don't you even think about buying them a house elf!" If you do I'll never speak to you again!"

"Come on Hermione, give me a break. You know me better than that. At least give me a chance to explain what I'm thinking." Hermione said nothing. She folded her arms across her chest and continued to glare at him, conveying the unmistakable message that this had better be good.

"Between studying for and then taking OWLs, Ginny won't be able to help out with the wedding preparations at all. And if we're going to make this work we really need Ron and the twins to be in Diagon Ally doing stuff for us."

Hermione's glare had not abated in the least. Harry took a deep breath and plunged on. "Maybe Winky would like to go work for them. You know she's unhappy at Hogwarts. Dobby's told us more than once that she really wants to work for a family. You know that the Weasleys would treat her right. Isn't that what being free is all about, being able to decide who you want to work for? I'm saying let's _ask_ her if she'd like to do it. By refusing to even consider the possibility you're saying you know better what's good for house elves than they do themselves. Isn't that presumptuous and treating them like inferior beings? Let her make the decision."

Hermione did not like Harry's argument one bit, but could find no fault with it. She had been sure that she had been right about freeing house elves. It just wasn't right that they were slaves. It was certainly true, though, that Winky was unhappy now. And she really wouldn't be a slave at the Weasley's, and she would be able to leave if she wanted to. Grudgingly she gave in.

"Can we at least make some conditions that she has to get paid and wear something other than those rags?"

Harry wanted to hug Hermione but restrained himself. He knew how hard it was for her to give in on this issue. "We can try. Let's talk to Dobby and see what he thinks."

Dobby, of course, thought it was an excellent idea. He disappeared and shortly was back with Winky. Winky was overwhelmed that Harry Potter was concerned with her, and was so grateful that Harry was able to persuade her to take a small salary and wear nice clothing like Dobby, but only after assuring her that the clothing would not mean that she was being disciplined or dismissed. Hermione reluctantly consented to write a note to Mrs. Weasley explaining their idea and the conditions that Winky had agreed to, but she reminded Winky several times that she was free to leave and go back whenever she wished. Winky, of course, had no intention of leaving the Weasleys since she had been wishing for such a situation ever since being dismissed by the Crouches.

After it was settled they decided to get some lunch. Harry had the inspired idea of asking Dobby and Winky to eat lunch with them. After much protesting, especially from Winky, that it was not proper for house elves to eat with their masters, Harry prevailed. Eventually the two elves relaxed and they had an enjoyable meal together. After the meal Hermione was clearly considerably happier about the arrangement, which Harry noted with some satisfaction. They gave Dobby and Winky the note of explanation and sent them off to the Burrow, then decided it was time for a swim.

-----

Harry was excited as he went into his room to change. It was his first time ever in a swimming pool. He looked at the suits he had bought the day before.

_What did Hermione call these, racing suits? They look like underwear, _he thought, trying one on. _ Well, it feels pretty good, but I can't go out in front of Hermione in this! Better stick to the bigger one for now. _ He took off the racing suit and tried on the regular one._ This looks pretty baggy on me. I need to eat more and fill out some. Maybe I should try lifting weights like Dudley._

Harry wondered what Hermione would wear. He had never seen a girl in a swimsuit, but had seen pictures in the newspaper of people at the beach and knew that women wore either 1-piece or 2-piece suits. He smiled as he realized that either way he would be seeing a lot more of Hermione than he ever had before.

Harry's thoughts turned to the day at the lake during the second task. He had never seen what Fleur wore. He had been too nervous at the start, having just arrived in time for the task, to notice anything about the other champions, and Fleur had never made it to the hostages. He recalled that Cedric wore a suit much like the one he had on now, but had filled it out much better. Krum had worn a suit more like the racing suits that Hermione had picked out, but it covered more than these did.

His thoughts returned to Hermione. Whatever she wore, she ought to look good in a swimsuit. Harry thought that Hermione was attractive, but wondered if it was just because she was his friend. The other guys never mentioned her when they talked about good-looking girls at Hogwarts. He thought that maybe they couldn't see past the bookworm image. He shrugged and went out to the pool. His eyes lit up as he saw Hermione waiting for him wearing a bikini.

-----

Hermione grumbled to herself as she tried to decide which bikini to wear.

_I bet guys don't spend this much time picking out a swimsuit. Harry probably just grabbed the first one he saw. At least I made him get a color that looked good on him. He'll probably wear that baggy one he picked out. I hope he gets comfortable enough to try one of the others sometime while we're here._

Hermione had worn only bikinis since she was 12 and bought two or three a year so she had lots to choose from. She smiled as she looked at the bikini on the top of the pile – the thong she had bought just last summer. _Better not expose him to that just yet._ _Best to go with a more conservative one. He'll still get an eyeful._

She picked out an older suit that was a mint green color with a pink floral print. The bottom had one inch sides instead of string ties like her more recent ones and a triangle top that covered her more or less completely. At least, that had been true when she bought the suit three years ago. She realized as she put it on that she had grown in some areas since then, and now the top revealed a fair amount of cleavage. It would just have to do. Actually, she almost never wore the tops of her suits at home, and she wondered if Harry would get comfortable enough with her during this summer that she could resume that practice. Somehow she doubted it.

She sat out by the pool waiting for Harry, and got up as she heard him come out. _Why would it take him longer to change than me? _she wondered. _He only had one piece to put on._ Those thoughts vanished as she saw the look on his face as he walked out to the pool. It made her feel good inside that he enjoyed the way she looked. She nodded toward the pool and he dropped his towel on the chair and they both jumped in.

She started Harry off with floating on his back. While that was a fairly standard way to start teaching swimming, in this case it was unfortunate because Harry's face was exactly even with her chest. The first few times he turned to look at her he suddenly had trouble breathing. Since he had almost no body fat, whenever he stopped breathing he started to sink. Then she had to lean over and try to catch him, which made things even worse. He'd inhale water and start choking, then they'd have to stop and start over. Consequently, it took Harry twice as long to master a skill that most children picked up in five or ten minutes. It didn't help that Hermione couldn't stop giggling. She felt a sort of perverse sense of satisfaction in his reaction to her. No one at school had ever paid attention to her figure, and here her best friend was having trouble breathing at the sight of her cleavage. _Finally, someone's noticing. Too bad it's not the person I wanted to notice._

Eventually Harry got used to the facts that 1) his best friend had breasts and 2) they looked pretty good in that bikini top. Once he had that out of the way he relaxed a little and concentrated on the swimming lesson.

All in all it turned out to be the most fun Hermione had had in a pool in years. And Harry, despite having consumed a fair amount of pool water, had enjoyed the experience as well and eventually started getting the hang of swimming. Afterward they sat out on the pool lounge chairs for the rest of the afternoon, enjoying the summer sun and each other's company and discussing the day's events.

As they went inside to change, Hermione thought about the afternoon's swimming adventure. She was well aware of Harry's reaction to her bikini, and she didn't want him to feel uncomfortable, or be confused about what was going on between them. She decided that they would have to talk about their relationship soon.

For dinner that evening Harry and Hermione prepared spaghetti with garlic bread and a salad. Dan picked out an appropriate wine. The adults reported on their activities and the teens did likewise. Dan and Emma had a busy day lined up for them tomorrow. In the morning they would go with a realtor to look at possible rentals. They had decided on four bedrooms, one each for Harry, Hermione, and Ron, and one for a possible guest. Hermione insisted on two bathrooms, and they decided they could get by with a large living room without a separate dining room. While Emma had initially been concerned at the cost of something that large, the news of Harry's wealth allayed those fears. Harry again offered to pay for part or all of the Granger's trip, and this time Dan said he would consider it. Emma had called in a favor to get Harry an eye appointment in the afternoon, and suggested he should probably come in for a dental checkup also. She had found some temporary hair color rinses they could experiment with, but had not yet had a chance to meet with her friend regarding makeup. Harry and Hermione thought that if they had time they would also go see Fred and George.

After dinner Hermione took her mother aside and told her that she and Harry needed to have a long private discussion. Emma took the hint and let Dan know that they would be going to bed early that night. Emma was dying of curiosity to know exactly what the relationship was between her daughter and this young man she and Dan had come to admire, but decided that she would have to wait until another day.

--------------------

A/N Harry's slogan T-shirts were inspired by similar T-shirts in 'Sunset Over Britain' by Bobmin356. I refuse to apologize for any puns, bad or otherwise. I do hope the chocolate shippers enjoyed the chocolate reference.


	4. Harry and Hermione and Hermione and Ron

**Disclaimer**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment. Certain lines or scenes in this story are inspired by other fanfics I have read. That happens in this chapter, and I'll credit the author in the A/N at the end.

**---------------**

**Chapter 4, Harry and Hermione and Hermione and Ron**

After her parents had retired for the evening, and she and Harry were alone, Hermione turned to him and said, "Harry?"

"Hmm?"

"I want to talk for a while."

"OK."

They went to the family room and sat down on a couch. "I want to talk about Ron and me, and about you and me."

Harry nodded. He had been expecting this sooner or later. Hermione tucked her legs under her and turned to face him. "Do you think I'm pretty?"

"Sure." Harry said, surprised. He had _not_ been expecting this!"

Hermione smiled. That was so like Harry. A simple, direct, answer with no evasion or thought of deception. "You think I'm as pretty as the other girls at Hogwarts?"

Harry paused this time. She clearly wanted him to give this some thought. "Well, you know Cho kind of took my breath away, but yeah, you're as pretty as the rest of them."

"Even Lavender?"

Harry now thought he saw where this was going. "Well, Lavender has that long, wavy blonde hair that a lot of guys like, and she does stuff to her eyes…"

"Makeup, Harry."

"OK, she uses that eye makeup that looks real nice, and she…" Harry stopped, with his hands in the air, slightly cupped, while he tried to decide how to say the next part.

"The polite term is to say she has a great figure, Harry," Hermione said as she rolled her eyes. "If you want to be direct about it, she has big breasts."

"OK, she has big breasts. Some guys make a big deal about that…"

"Like Ron." Hermione mumbled.

Harry thought he detected some bitterness in that comment, but ignored the interruption and continued, "but that's not that important to me. I mean, look at Cho and Ginny." Both girls had what would be described as petite figures. "So I like the size you are." Harry paused, and then both of them blushed as they realized exactly what he had just said.

Why, Harry, I didn't think you noticed, "Hermione teased.

"Hermione, I'm a guy. We definitely notice girls' breasts! I can't tell you how many nights in the boys dorm have been spent discussing the relative sizes of the girls in our year." Harry generally listened and rarely participated during these discussions, which were usually between Seamus, Dean, and Ron, since he had pretty much no experience with girls. In truth, Hermione's name rarely came up. Lavender Brown, Susan Bones, and Pansy Parkinson were the chief topics of discussion, although occasionally all the girls would be compared. Dean had been very careful during the past year not to reveal any knowledge he might have about Ginny in front of Ron.

"Enough!" cried Hermione. She _really_ did not want to think about Dean or Seamus or, God forbid, Neville offering an opinion on how her breasts compared with Parvati's or Lavender's. "Go on."

"Hermione, you're pretty enough without even trying. But when you got dressed up and all made up that time for the Yule Ball, you were stunning! I couldn't take my eyes off of you, and if you remember, I was with Parvati at the time and Cho was at the head table also."

"Oh, Harry, you're so sweet!" Hermione beamed, and she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

"Well, then," she continued, changing to a matter-of-fact voice. "Why haven't we ever dated?"

Harry, stunned, had no answer as his jaw dropped to the floor. OK, this was _definitely_ not where he thought this conversation had been going. _Wasn't this supposed to be about Ron?_

"I mean, we really like each other. We care for each other more than most boyfriends/girlfriends." Hermione paused. "You never thought about us like that, right?" Still unable to answer, Harry managed a nod this time. "How do you think about us?" Harry shrugged this time, still trying to get his brain to re-engage and formulate an answer and Hermione continued. "For the last few years, we've cared for each other more than anyone else in the world. When I wasn't with you during the summer I couldn't wait to see you again. I'm sure you also couldn't wait to see me and Ron. I'd rather spend time with you than with my parents, who I love dearly. We worry about what happens to each other. We're more concerned about each others' safety than our own. How many times have I tried to talk you out of something dangerous, then joined you when I could see that you were going to do it anyway? How many times have you risked your life for mine? Do you know how desperate I was when you disappeared at the end of the tri-wizard tournament, or how relieved I felt when you returned?"

Harry finally found his voice as he thought about her words. "When you went down in the Department of Mysteries last year I lost it. I couldn't function until Neville found your pulse and told me you were alive. I didn't react that way when the others got hurt," he added in a softer voice as he relived that night in his mind.

"I remember that I was the one you grabbed to protect when we blew up the shelves." Hermione pointed out quietly. "We both saved each other's life a few times that night." There was silence as they both remembered the awful events of that night.

"You know, as bad as I felt when Sirius died, it would have been as bad or even worse if it had been you." Harry's voice broke as he finished, and Hermione suddenly reached over and grabbed him in a fierce hug. After a minute she leaned back and said, "There's more to it than that. I care about what you think of me. Your opinion is more important to me than anyone else's." Harry nodded in agreement as Hermione continued, "So like what you said about me before, or last year when I heard what you told Slughorn about me. It means more coming from you than from other people."

"I see what you mean," mused Harry. "When everyone thought I was crazy last year, it was bearable because you believed in me. If you had turned against me too…" he shuddered.

Hermione reached over and took his hand. "It works the other way too. When you criticize me, it hurts more. And it makes me really think about what I've done." She took his other hand and looked down as she lowered her voice. "And you don't criticize me out of spite. It's always an honest opinion and you usually do it quietly and in private." She looked down guiltily. "Even this past year when we weren't getting along that well. You challenged me about Ron and Cormac, but you waited to do it when we were alone." She looked up into his eyes. "You have no idea how much that means to me Harry. Thank you." She leaned forward to give him another kiss on the cheek, then leaned back to look at him.

Harry was quiet as he thought about his arguments with Hermione in years past. He realized, even if he was too stubborn to admit it at the time, that all her criticisms of him had been because she cared about him. Then he frowned as he remembered some of her comments about the potions book.

Hermione, as though she was reading his mind, squeezed his hands tightly as she said, "I'm sorry Harry. I said some things this year that were way out of line. You've been a better friend to me this year than I've been to you."

"That's OK Hermione," he responded quickly. "You've put up with a lot more from me over the years than I have from you. If anyone's earned some slack in this relationship, it's you."

Hermione's eyes sparkled, the relief evident on her face. "Oh Harry, thank you…"

"No, Hermione, thank you. For putting up with me and caring enough about me to let me know when I'm screwing up. Let's always talk to each other and be honest with each other and work out our disagreements as friends." He paused. "Best friends."

They both looked at each other, and smiles began to grow across their faces. "Best friends," Hermione agreed. Then Harry, to her shock, leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. He grinned at her wide-eyed stare before she recovered and stuttered, "H-Harry. Y-You've never done that!"

"Well, it's about time, isn't it?" he chuckled.

Eventually Hermione regained her composure and continued. "That's not all. It makes us happy when good things happen to each other and we feel bad when something bad happens to the other." She noticed a strange look on Harry's face. "Don't look so surprised, Harry. A lot of people are happy when others mess up, because it makes them feel better about themselves, and are jealous when good things happen to others, even their friends."

"Don't I know it," muttered Harry.

Hermione got his attention again, then leaned forward and said softly, "You've always tried to comfort me when I'm hurting." She got a distant look in her eye. "Sometimes it seems like a theme with the three of us. Ron says something that upsets me, you try to comfort me, eventually I get over it and we're fine until the next time." She shook herself a little and looked at Harry. "You know the only reason I watched Quidditch was because I enjoyed how happy it made you, right? And I can see you smile when I do well in class, and I can feel how proud you are of me. Remember when the prefect's badges came out last year?" Harry nodded. "I was as excited when I thought you got one as I was when I got mine."

Harry thought briefly. "You know, I was happy for you even though I was disappointed. I think part of what made me feel bad was the thought that I'd let you down. For a while I was jealous of Ron, but then I felt bad that I was jealous." After a while Harry continued, "Don't ever tell Ron this, but Dumbledore told me at the end of the year that I would have been the prefect, but he thought I had too many other burdens to worry about."

He looked up to see Hermione grinning. "I knew it!" she said triumphantly. Then they both laughed.

Hermione thought again. "Do you remember how excited I was after the first and second tasks of the triwizard tournament? I was so proud of you!"

"Yeah, I remember that Krum was not very happy that you paid more attention to me than you did to him," Harry interjected. "Did you know that he came to me later and asked me if there was anything going on between us?"

"No, really?" Hermione said, blushing again. "Well, that proves my point. I cared a lot more about you than I did about him, and I was supposed to be 'the one he would miss the most.' What does that tell you?"

Harry stared at her in deep thought, then said slowly, "They could have put either you or Ron down in the lake as my hostage." Hermione's eyes shone brightly as Harry continued, "When my name came out of the cup you were the only one who believed me. You trusted me. That meant so much to me I can't express it."

Hermione responded, "I trusted you. I've always trusted you about things like that. You've never let me down. I trust you with my life."

"And I trust you with my life Hermione." This time they both leaned forward and hugged each other.

When they separated, Hermione got serious. "Do you know what we've been describing for the last half hour? We've been describing love." Harry jerked up straight with shock in his eyes. "Harry, there are different kinds of love. Do you think Ron loves Ginny?"

Realization dawned on his face as Harry said slowly, "Y-e-a-h."

"How did Ron react when Ginny was taken into the Chamber?"

"He really freaked out. He practically dragged me down to see Lockhart, then dragged both of us down to the chamber."

"How would you have reacted if it had been me?"

"Pretty much the same."

"Harry, you and I have something in common. We're both only children. Neither of us experienced what it was like to have a brother or sister." Hermione took a deep breath. "It took me a while to figure it out. I love you, but not in a romantic way. It's more like you're the brother I never had, Harry. I love you like a brother. Does that make sense?"

Hermione gazed hopefully at Harry, then a big smile broke over his face. "And you're like the sister I've never had, Hermione! That's what I've been feeling!" Once again, they met each other in a big hug.

Without letting go, Hermione whispered, "Remember what you saw in the mirror of Erised? Your heart's desire was to have a family. Let me be a part of that family Harry."

Harry felt that the hole that had long been in his heart had filled a little. He had never had anyone tell him they loved him before, nor had he ever been able to say it to anyone. He hugged her more tightly than he ever had. "Thank you so much Hermione. I love you."

She gasped a little and returned the hug as tightly as she could. "I love you Harry."

They held each other a long time as tears ran down both of their faces.

Eventually they pulled away from each other and Hermione smiled at Harry. "OK. Now that we have that figured out we can be more comfortable around each other. We're not going to be embarrassed to touch each other, or give each other hugs."

"Not to mention the occasional kiss on the cheek?" grinned Harry. Hermione grinned back and nodded.

After a while Hermione said, "You realize it's the same way between you and Ron, right?" At Harry's puzzled look she continued, "You think of Ron as a brother."

Again realization dawned on Harry as he considered these words. "Yeah, I think you're right." Then he frowned. "He tends to get jealous at times, though."

"That's actually pretty common between brothers," explained Hermione. "They're sometimes jealous of each other, but when the chips are down, they're there for each other. Remember fourth year? Ron and you weren't speaking to each other for weeks because he was jealous of you for being a champion, but as soon as he realized you were in danger, he was right there for you and the two of you made up like nothing had happened."

"And Ron and Ginny can get into some real battles, but you know what would happen if anyone else tried to hurt either of them," she finished.

"Well, OK, but I'm not going to hug him."

"Oh boys!" Hermione said exasperatedly. "I don't know what's wrong with you. Honestly, it's all right for guys to hug." She looked up to find Harry grinning at her. "You prat!" she said laughing as she poked him in the arm. Then she got an evil grin on her face. "I suppose kissing on the cheek is out then?"

"Ewww!" cried Harry, and then they both dissolved into laughter.

"So," said Harry after they had regained their composure. "I guess Ron is like a brother to you too?"

A pained expression immediately came over Hermione's face and Harry realized he had said the wrong thing. "It's more complicated than that" said Hermione softly.

Hermione sat on the couch with her head down, twisting her hands together. Harry waited patiently for her to continue. Finally she gave a big sigh and looked up. "What did it feel like for you when you were attracted to Cho?"

"Well, it started out as a funny feeling in my stomach when I saw her."

"And Ginny?"

"Pretty much the same thing. With her it felt like a monster in my stomach. It's funny though, I didn't feel it at all during the time we spent together at the Burrow last summer," he reflected thoughtfully. "It only started when I saw her and Dean snogging in the corridor."

"Well, for a while now I've had that kind of feeling for Ron. But I don't think he feels that way about me." Hermione's shoulders drooped as she said this.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked, "I mean, look at how he acted with Krum. When I was interested in Cho, I hated Cedric when he was with her and when I started feeling that way about Ginny I wanted to kill Dean when I saw them snogging."

"But Harry, despite what some people think, jealousy isn't the only sign of being attracted to someone. How did you act towards Cho and Ginny?"

Harry thought about it. "When I wasn't making a fool out of myself, I was as nice as I could be in order to get them to like me."

"So if Ron was attracted to me for the last few years, why didn't he treat me better? We constantly argued and he'd say really nasty things to me."

Harry winced, remembering some of the comments Ron had made, recalling especially the scene at the Yule Ball.

"Yes," said Hermione, seeming to read Harry's mind, "I bet you're thinking of fourth year. I was hoping he'd ask me to the ball, and he came up with that bit about only wanting a girl who was good looking – clearly not including me in that category – then proceeded to ruin one of the most special nights of my life." She sighed. "And even with all that, I decided that this year I was going to make the first move."

"When you asked him to Slughorn's party?"

She nodded. "And the next thing I know, he's writhing all over the couch with Lavender! Why Harry? I don't understand it!" She was sobbing now. Harry reached over and pulled her into his arms, letting her head rest on his chest as her tears soaked into his shirt. Finally she composed herself and drew back.

"Thanks, Harry. You're getting better at this comforting stuff." Harry grinned and she gave a small sad laugh. "Really though, can you explain it?"

Harry hesitated. "Please Harry, if you know anything," she pleaded, "I have to know. Has he told you something?"

"No, he hasn't said anything to me, but I have an idea what triggered the snog session with Lavender." Harry gulped slightly at the hurt look that returned to Hermione's face.

"No, that's OK, go on."

"I told you about running into Ginny and Dean in that corridor. Well, Ron was there too, and he really went off on Ginny. You know she can give as good as she gets so she came back at him saying he was just jealous, because she had snogged Michael and Dean, I had snogged Cho, and you had snogged Krum but he'd never kissed anyone but his aunt."

"So he went and snogged Lavender because of that?" Hermione asked disbelievingly.

"That's when he started avoiding you, and a few days later after the quidditch match …"

Tears had returned to Hermione's eyes. "But … that was _after_ I asked him out. Why wouldn't he want to kiss me? Why did he need to go to Lavender?" The tears were now streaming down her face.

"Maybe he just wanted to, I don't know, get even?" Harry winced as he said these words. He knew even as he said them that they didn't make any sense.

Hermione just stared at him, taking deep breaths as she tried to control herself. Finally she responded. "Harry, you had girls lined up wanting to give you love potions last year. When you saw Ginny kissing Dean, did that make you want to go kiss Romilda Vane or one of the others?"

"No! It made me want to grab Ginny and kiss her and get rid of Dean!"

Hermione continued, "And Ron?"

Harry's heart sank. Ron could have kissed Hermione any time if he wanted to. She not only wasn't going out with anyone else, she had asked _him_ out. Instead he had gone to Lavender.

He remembered now something else Ron had said.

Hermione noticed that Harry was holding something back. She grabbed both of his hands and forced him to look at her. "What is it? Please tell me Harry."

Harry lowered his eyes again. In a low voice he replied, "After you sent those birds after him … which was a really cool charm by the way …" he looked up and she gave a small smile that quickly vanished so he continued, "he said he was going to go to Slughorn's party with you but … just as friends."

Harry couldn't bear to see Hermione so sad, so he tried again. "But he eventually broke up with Lavender. He found out she's not what he wanted after all. Maybe now?" he said hopefully.

Hermione just shook her head. "Harry, Ron broke up with Lavender the same day Ginny broke up with Dean. It took you a while … because you were worried about Ron's reaction?" Harry nodded. "But you got together with Ginny. If Ron had been interested in anything with me there was nothing stopping him. He's had plenty of time if he really wanted to." She sighed.

Harry thought of something that might cheer her up. "He did say he loved you that time you fixed his essay."

Hermione had a puzzled look on her face as she tried to recall what Harry was talking about, then shook her head wearily. "I was so pathetic. I actually reacted to that for a second. It was just homework for goodness sakes. He said that with as much passion as if I'd passed him a bowl of potatoes."

Harry couldn't help the snort that escaped. At Hermione's questioning look he explained. "I couldn't help thinking of Ron making a passionate declaration of love over a bowl of mashed potatoes."

That finally got a smile out of Hermione, then an actual chuckle. "Well, they do say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. That's probably especially true in Ron's case!" That got a laugh out of Harry as well, but soon the smile disappeared from Hermione's face and she dropped her head and gave another big sigh.

Harry said nothing. He reached out his arm and Hermione snuggled up to him and put her head on his shoulder, staring off into space.

After a while Harry said, "So what are you going to do?"

"I'll get over it eventually. He made his feelings pretty when you asked him after the funeral." She paused, then looked up at him. "You got over Cho once you realized it wasn't going to work, right?"

"Yeah, by the end of the year I realized I didn't really have any feelings for her any more. But she and I have been avoiding each other all this year and …"

"Don't worry about that," Hermione responded quickly. "Ron and I have been friends for a long time and I'm not going to let go of that. You hardly knew Cho before you started going out, so it's really not the same. Don't worry, we'll still be friends. It'll be like it's been for the last month." She patted him reassuringly.

Harry gave a sigh of relief and they lapsed once more into silence.

Finally she said, "Thanks Harry. You're the best friend I could ever want. Thanks for being here for me."

They remained on the couch like that late into the night, Harry giving his best friend as much comfort as he could. He decided that when he got a chance that he would have to talk to Ron. He would not allow Ron to keep hurting his friend like this. No, he corrected himself, he would not allow Ron to keep hurting _his sister_ like this.

-------------------

A/N - Harry and Hermione's talk was inspired by 'Like a Sister' by Jeconais. I used the first two questions by Hermione in that story at the beginning of this scene. However, in my story they reach the opposite conclusion from what they did in his story.


	5. A Visit to Gringotts

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Sirius's will has been done in innumerable fanfics. Mine is not modeled after any of them, and I think I have managed to give it a slightly different twist. The goblins being friendly toward Harry is also common in fanfics, and again I hope I have come up with something unique. Finally, Harry and Hermione thinking of their relationship as being like brother/sister is also not unusual in fanfics. This caused some upset among some reviewers last chapter. Keep in mind that this is just what they've decided to call a relationship where they find themselves caring very much for each other but not in a romantic sense. They still need to work it out somewhat, since Harry does find Hermoine to be attractive in a sense that brothers may not think of sisters.

The inspiration for the relationship I'm trying to create in this story was a one-shot called "A Deeper Love" found on another website, a key site supporting the H/Hr pairing.

Thanks to Old Crow and Dee Weasley (aka mrs. vanblundht) for prereading this story and making numerous helpful suggestions.

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**Chapter 5, A Visit to Gringotts **

Friday, June 20

"Harry, you look like a Malfoy!" Hermione giggled. Harry, who had been looking in the mirror in shock, managed an offended look before breaking into laughter himself. The two of them were trying out the hair coloring Emma had bought them and were just now seeing the results. Harry could not believe the difference in his appearance. While his hair wasn't really as blonde as Malfoy's, it was much lighter. This, combined with his lack of glasses, and with his scar covered by the stage makeup Emma had obtained from her friend, he wasn't sure he could even recognize himself. And Hermione … "And you look like Hannah Abbott," he returned. The Hufflepuff girl in their year had beautiful waist length wavy blonde hair.

"You think so?" Hermione asked eagerly. In addition to the blonde coloring she had used a healthy amount of Sleakeasy potion. Since her hair was lighter than Harry's to start with, her hair was even blonder now that his was. "Her hair is gorgeous!"

"So's yours." Harry replied. He was rewarded by a brilliant smile and a kiss on the cheek.

As Harry looked back into the mirror, he reflected that he and Hermione had changed in more than just their physical appearance. He had heard Hermione laugh more this past week than he normally did in an entire year. Whether it was just being home with her family and away from the pressures of studying or something else, she seemed to be a happier person. He liked her this way. He had also noticed that he was responding to this more cheerful Hermione and was laughing more himself.

-----

The week had not gone exactly as planned, but they had accomplished most of their goals. At Harry's eye-doctor appointment Tuesday the doctor had suggested laser corrective surgery. The permanence of such a solution appealed to Harry, so they had done the surgery Wednesday. Although the normal recovery period required no strenuous activities for 4 weeks (they assumed dueling would be considered strenuous!), a quick message to Madame Pomfrey via Dobby brought Harry a potion that had him as good as new by Friday. Hence they had postponed their lessons with Remus and Tonks until this afternoon.

Dan and Emma had made all their arrangements and would be leaving for Canada the following Saturday. While Harry had been having the eye surgery and recovering, Hermione and Emma had gone with the realtor to visit houses, and had picked out a nice one in Berkshire County, roughly equal distance from the Grangers in Oxfordshire and the Dursleys in Surrey. Once they had their disguises worked out she was going to dual apparate him over to see it and sign the final papers this morning. Emma would drive and meet them there. Once he knew exactly where it was he would be able to apparate to and from it himself.

Hermione had initially been reluctant for him to apparate alone since he didn't have his license yet, but when he pointed out that he had successfully apparated Professor Dumbledore and himself from the cave to Hogsmeade, she had to admit that it was probably OK. That had lead to an eye-opening conversation about underage magic.

When Hermione had questioned how Harry was going to learn spells from Remus and practice dueling with Tonks without getting a notice from the Improper Use of Magic Office he had casually told her what he had learned from Dumbledore. The Department could detect spells when they were cast but not who cast them. If there was known to be an adult witch or wizard at the location where the spell was cast it was assumed to be OK. Hermione had immediately realized the implications of this which Harry had not. The only underage witches and wizards who were being monitered were muggleborns! To Hermione this was yet another example of discrimination in the wizarding world against muggleborns. Harry had to agree. It would certainly have been advantageous to be able to practice spells at home. He imagined that most wizarding families would let their children practice spells under their supervision, and also that most wizarding children managed to learn spells on their own. How else could you explain Ginny's proficiency with a bat bogey hex or Fred and George's wide knowledge of joke spells before they were of age? And purebloods who supported Voldemort could teach their children dark spells, while muggleborns who were their main targets couldn't learn to defend themselves. After about ten minutes of listening to Hermione rant about this injustice, Harry managed to assure her that he agreed with her, and without much effort was able to convince her that he could ignore the restriction from now on.

Yesterday they had successfully apparated into Fred and George's back room and enjoyed some time catching up with them and Ron. Winky was working out well at the Weasley's after some initial conflict in the kitchen. She and Molly had eventually worked out who would do what, and Molly was gradually letting her take over more and more tasks as she saw how good Winky was at running a household. As Harry had hoped, this had freed up Ron to spend his days at Weasley Wizarding Wheezes and elsewhere in Diagon Alley, where he was gathering information as well as identifying items that would be useful when they started their search. Ron's eyes lit up when Harry told him his budget was unlimited and to buy whatever he thought they needed.

Fred and George had come back when the shop was empty to tell them they had figured out the charm for the mirrors, and just needed a couple drops of blood from Harry, Hermione, and Ron. The twins did James and Sirius one better by making these mirrors three-way. Harry would be able to call either Hermione or Ron on his and the others could do the same.

-----

Harry finally finished the stage makeup with Emma's help, and was happy to see that his scar was now completely invisible. Harry now had blonde hair, no scar, and no glasses while Hermione now had straight, slightly wavy blonde hair and wore glasses. Emma took them to the house they rented and they filled out the paperwork. Jack and Jane Farmer, fresh out of school and newly married, now had a house which was generously being provided by the bride's well-to-do parents. Harry quickly realized that he needed to get a driver's license to be a muggle, but fortunately Hermione had hers and they put everything in her name. At the questioning look from the rental agent, Hermione smoothly explained that she went by her middle name (who wouldn't with a first name like Hermione?) and that she hadn't had a chance to get her license changed to her married name yet.

The house was perfect for them. Hermione had narrowed the choices down to one on Turnbull Court and one on Sunset Lane, but picked the one on Turnbull Court because it seemed more 'realistic', as she put it. Emma assured them that she would pick out furniture and have it delivered the next week, so that it would be ready for them by the time she and Dan left for Canada. It had a spacious family room with a fireplace and lots of built in bookshelves. (Harry gave Hermione a smirk when her eyes lit up upon the revelation of this feature. She responded with a punch to his arm.) Directly adjacent was a well-equipped kitchen that had room for a table and chairs. There were three bedrooms and a den that could be furnished with a desk and a convertible sofa. Harry envisioned one wall of the living room with a large map on it, and asked Emma to see if she could find one. There was no yard to speak of, but they planned on spending as little time outside as possible. After some thought, they decided that when they moved in they would take evening walks around the neighborhood holding hands and shop at the nearby market together a few times to establish their presence as young newlyweds who mostly kept to themselves.

From the living room Harry and Hermione apparated to the Granger garden, then apparated back. Emma just shook her head as the two disappeared with a soft pop then reappeared ten seconds later. They all decided to go out for lunch to celebrate before going back to the Grangers.

-----

Remus and Tonks arrived at 1:00, but their plans for the afternoon were derailed when Dobby appeared a few minutes later with a message that Bill had finally set up the meeting with the Goblins. It would be at 2:00 and he had sent a portkey that would take them directly into a conference room at the bank.

Since they had some time to kill, Harry and Hermione decided it was a good opportunity to share a little more with Remus and Tonks. First, Harry decided to find out what they already knew.

"Did Professor Dumbledore tell the Order about what he was doing last year?"

Remus and Tonks shared a glance, then Remus said, "You know I can't tell you about Order business."

Harry's frustrations with being kept in the dark resurfaced with a vengeance. "Cut the crap! I'm the one who has to defeat Voldemort. How the hell am I supposed to do it if you people treat me like a kid and keep me in the dark?" Hermione looked at him nervously as the dishes in a nearby china cabinet rattled.

The adults stared at him in disbelief. This time Tonks spoke first, "What are you going on about? Sure, you've fought You-Know-Who before but …"

"Say his name! How can you fight someone if you're too afraid of him to even say his name?"

This time Hermione moved closer and grabbed his arm and put her other hand on his shoulder to help him calm down. She surprised the others, however by agreeing with him. "You two have no idea what's really going on. Let's all put our cards on the table and try to work together."

While Harry was used to Hermione in bossy mode, the other two had not previously experienced it. They had slightly dazed looks on their faces as she smoothly took charge and moved them over to the couches and sat everyone down, then turned briskly toward Harry and said, "You first. The prophecy."

If Remus and Tonks had been dazed before, they were positively stunned now. Remus felt a crushing blow that literally took his breath away as he realized why his best friends had died, and the awesome burden that had been imposed on their son. When he could speak he stammered, "You've known about this for a year? How have you managed to keep your sanity?"

Harry looked at him, then turned to Hermione and took her hand. "Good friends, I guess." He managed a weak smile and she moved closer and put her arm around him. Remus and Tonks looked at each other and came to a silent agreement. Never again would they think of these two as children. Then realization hit them.

Tonks was the first to voice the objection. "Harry, what you're doing this summer. You can't possibly think you can hunt him down and take him on all by yourself! You wouldn't stand a chance."

"Calm down, we're not going to take him on yet," Harry reassured them. "You're right, we have to get a lot better at fighting first. That's what we need you two for. But there's something else we're working on, that has to be done first, and it has to be done in secret."

At that, the older two relaxed a bit. Hermione took over again and this time had them relay what the Order had been working on. She quickly established that 1) it had nothing to do with their immediate problem and 2) the Order didn't have the faintest idea what Dumbledore and Harry had been doing. In one respect that was good news, in that they were more likely to keep the whole thing secret. There was the nagging worry, though, about how much Snape knew, especially when Harry revealed that he had been the one to help Dumbledore survive the destruction of the ring.

The other two's eyes widened when Hermione cast a silencing charm on the room before Harry told the next part. He outlined what Voldemort had done, touched only briefly on the reasoning and deduction that had gone into this discovery, and told in detail of the ill-fated search for the locket, ending with the part they knew only too well, Dumbledore's death. Finally he related the trio's frustration with their inability to figure out who RAB was.

"Well," Remus mused. There are a lot of wizard surnames that begin with B. Borgan and Burke, Bagnold, Bulstrode, Bones …"

"Black," offered Tonks, thinking of her own family. Then she and Remus turned to stare at one another. "You don't think?" she gasped.

"What was his middle name?"

"Antares"

Harry felt like shaking someone. "What!" he shouted. Hermione was ready to do the same. Tonks turned to them.

"Sorry. Sirius' brother, Regulus. His initials were RAB."

"Wait!" Hermione shouted, "Didn't Sirius say he was a Death Eater who Voldemort killed because he tried to back out?"

"Yeah," Harry countered. "So how could it be him if Voldemort killed him?"

"What if he was having second thoughts anyway, then he found out about the Horcrux, and that threw him so badly it made him decide to get out, and he went after the Horcrux for revenge, and managed to come back and hide it before Voldemort found him and killed him?"

Hermione had blurted out that line of reasoning so fast that it took Harry a while to follow it. '_I'm glad she's on my side!'_ he thought.

Just as he thought he had that one down she took off again. "Where could he have hidden it? What about Grimmauld Place? Remember that locket we found last year when we were cleaning? Oh Harry, what if it's still there!" She was bouncing up and down the way she did when she had an important answer in class while she was saying this, and finished by throwing herself at him and wrapping her arms around his neck, and staring wide-eyed at him from about six inches away.

Given that the only two things he could do in this position were to kiss her or push her away, Harry decided on the latter and gently began to disengage himself while trying to absorb what she had just said. Hermione suddenly realized how close she was and backed away, looking embarrassed and beginning to stammer an apology. Harry just shook his head, smiling at her enthusiasm. He reached out and gave her hand a little squeeze. Finally he turned to Remus.

"How do we get into Grimmauld Place?"

"I think we may find that out at our meeting with the goblins. Since it's almost 2:00 now, let's get ready to go."

They prepared themselves and gathered around the portkey, and promptly at 2:00 felt the familiar tug behind the navel and found themselves in a conference room at Gringotts. Harry looked up and saw several goblins and Bill Weasley. One of the goblins looked familiar.

"Hello Bill," Harry said, reaching out to shake hands. "Hello Griphook." He didn't know if it was proper etiquette to shake hands with a goblin so he kept his hands at his sides.

A look of surprise flashed across the goblin's face and he looked for an instant over at one of the other goblins, who from the way he stood Harry surmised was in charge, before turning his attention back to Harry. "Hello Harry Potter," Griphook said. "How is it that you know my name?"

"You took me to my vault the first time I came to Gringotts six years ago," replied Harry.

"I am surprised that you remember me from so long ago," responded Griphook evenly.

"Well, it was a memorable experience for me," answered Harry. "It was my first time in the wizarding world."

The goblins shared a long look and Harry wondered if he had said something wrong. Then the head goblin spoke up. "Mr. Weasley, would you be kind enough to introduce everyone else?" Bill performed the introductions. The goblin in charge was named Ragnok, and he quickly took control of the meeting. Harry, Hermione, Remus, and Tonks were seated on one side of the table; Bill, Griphook, Ragnok, and Bantic were seated on the other side.

Ragnok began, "There are two official reasons for this meeting. You have been named as the primary beneficiary of the will of Sirius Black. We also need to discuss the Potter trust, which will come under your control on the day of your majority. I believe that this will occur on July 31 this year?" Harry nodded, and Ragnok continued. "We will begin with the will of Sirius Black."

Ragnok motioned to an enormous stack of parchment and said, "The actual will would be far too difficult to read. I have prepared a summary for you if that is acceptable." Harry nodded again.

"Mr. Black wished to leave the entire Black estate to you. However, there were certain stipulations in the Black family trust that prevented this. If you were not the heir, it would have then passed to the other living Blacks, the three sisters Andromeda, Narcissa, and Bellatrix. As only one of them, Narcissa Black Malfoy, has a male offspring, he would inherit the Black family titles." He turned to Tonks. "You are Andromeda's only child and Bellatrix has no children, is that correct?" Tonks answered in the affirmative.

Ragnok continued, "Mr. Black wished to prevent this. He took several unusual steps which resulted in the will being contested. Only recently has it been resolved by the Court of Inheritance." He looked up at Harry. "We want to assure you that it does not normally take Gringotts a year to settle an estate, but our hands were tied in this matter."

Harry felt that a response was expected. "Of course. I understand. I'm sure you did the best you could. Thank you for all your work on this. I really appreciate it."

Ragnok had a startled expression on his face briefly before he continued, "It is our pleasure Mr. Potter. Please allow me to continue."

"First, Sirius Black formally adopted you in May of last year. That covered the restriction that only a Black could inherit the estate. Second, since you are still a minor, you were required to have a Black as guardian until your seventeenth birthday. Mr. Black formally appointed Ms. Tonks here to fill that role."

Harry gaped at Tonks. Trying to head of another eruption of Mount Potter she reached out and took his hand and said in a low voice, "I was aware of some of this. I'll explain as much as I can later." She smiled at him reassuringly. "Why do you think I spent so much time hanging around you during the last year?"

Harry leaned back to reflect. Tonks had been at the Burrow when he arrived last summer. She had been the one who had saved him on the Hogwarts Express last September. She had been in Hogsmeade the entire school year and he had met her unexpectedly in the castle several times.

Ragnok regained their attention. "The Black family trust required that all of the Blacks receive a portion of the estate. Mr. Black's will states that 100,000 galleons each will go to Andromeda Black Tonks, Narcissa Black Malfoy, and Bellatrix Black Lestrange. He further stipulates that 50,000 galleons of each of these sums will be held in trust and go directly to their children on the age of their majority. Since Ms. Tonks is already of age, she will receive this immediately. Draco Malfoy is due to receive his at the end of this month."

At this point Ragnok actually smiled. "An additional stipulation was made on these amounts, however. No money was to be disbursed to any members of the Black family who had outstanding criminal charges against them until those charges were cleared up. Gringotts is required to hold these funds in trust until such time." He turned to Tonks again. "Ms. Tonks, you are an Auror, I believe. Is it likely that the charges against Mrs. Lestrange will be cleared up any time soon?" Tonks merely shook her head, but had a broad smile. "And are there any charges pending against any other individuals mentioned?"

"As it turns out, charges have recently been filed against Draco Malfoy," she responded.

"So," Ragnok concluded, "We will be disbursing 50,000 galleons to Andromeda Tonks, 50,000 galleons to Nymphadora Tonks, and 50,000 galleons to Narcissa Malfoy. 100,000 galleons will be held here at Gringotts in the names of Bellatrix Lestrange and Draco Malfoy. The remainder of the estate goes to you, Mr. Potter, with the exception of several personal items that Mr. Black left to other individuals." He looked at the others. "These individuals include Mr. Lupin and Ms. Granger, as well as a few others." He handed them each a document, and handed Harry an envelope as well. "Mr. Potter, the estate includes several properties and the contents of the Black vault. Given the nature of the Black family, we believe it would be advisable for you to have one of our curse breakers examine the vault thoroughly. Would Mr. Weasley here be acceptable to you for this purpose?" At Harry's indication that this was acceptable he continued, "If you wish to visit your vault before you leave, Griphook here is at your service. In fact, your holdings make you one of our preferred customers, so Griphook will immediately be available to attend to your needs whenever you visit Gringotts."

Harry was curious. "About how much are we talking about?"

Ragnok responded, "I did not wish to presume to discuss the value of your holdings with others present. Are you comfortable with these people hearing this information?"

Harry said simply, "I am."

"The total value of the estate varies due to fluctuating property values. However, the approximate value, subtracting the 300,000 galleons previously mentioned, is 1,700,000 galleons. Here is a document summarizing your Black holdings." He showed Harry a much thicker document than he had given the others, but handed it to Tonks. "For the next six weeks, until you come of age, Ms. Tonks will need to approve any actions you wish to take with your holdings." He then gave a sealed envelope to Harry, which contained a letter from Sirius. Harry put it away to read later. Ragnok continued, "All of your properties are protected by ancient Black Family charms and curses. No one has been able to enter any of them since Mr. Black was killed. Here are instructions for you to claim the houses and set the wards to admit as many or as few as you desire."

Ragnok continued, "Bantic here has been managing the Black estate for a number of years. You may review the information I have given you and decide whether to have him continue in this capacity."

Harry turned to Remus and Tonks. "Did Sirius have any problems with how the estate was being managed?"

"No," Remus replied, "I seem to recall that he was impressed that his instructions were followed even though he was an escaped prisoner." Tonks confirmed this.

"Then I think we should keep him on, don't you?" Harry said to Tonks. She agreed. He turned to Bantic and said, "Would you be willing to continue managing my estate?"

Bantic replied slowly, "You are asking me to continue without examining my record?"

"Yes, I figure if Sirius could trust you I can trust you."

The goblins stared at Harry again. The word trust was not one that wizards used in describing goblins. They looked at each other and seemed to come to an agreement. Ragnok suddenly turned to another stack of papers.

"Our second matter of official business is the Potter trust. We felt that you should be aware of the extent of the Potter holdings so that you may begin to make appropriate decisions when you assume control in six weeks. These documents," and here he indicated a stack about 5 times as high as the pile from the Black estate "contain this information."

"Is the Potter trust as big as the Black estate?"

"The Potter trust is approximately five times the size of the Black trust. Therefore it is worth approximately 10,000,000 Galleons."

Harry noticed the shocked expressions on his friends' faces, and noted that even Bill was stunned at this revelation.

Harry asked, "Can Bantic manage the Potter trust as well?"

Bantic swallowed hard. Harry was certain he had never seen a goblin gulp before. At a nod from Ragnok, Bantic responded, "It would be my pleasure, Mr. Potter."

Harry was curious about another thing. "How is the Potter trust related to the vault I have now?"

"Your current vault is a subsidiary trust vault. The Potter trust document states that minors are to receive 1,000 Galleons per year up until the time they begin schooling, then 5,000 Galleons per year during the time they are in school. Your current vault contains that money. Since it had not been accessed previously, on the day you first visited Gringotts it contained 11,000 Galleons. It now contains nearly 40,000 Galleons."

"Can I ask another question? I have had trouble in recent years getting to Diagon Alley to get money from Gringotts. Is there another way I could take money out of my vault? For example, could I send Dobby with my key to Griphook and have him get the gold from my vault and give it to Dobby to bring back to me?"

The goblins were no longer attempting to hide their amazement. When did a wizard ever trust both an elf and a goblin to handle his vault key and his gold? "Certainly, if that is your wish."

"Thank you. May I do so now?" Harry inquired. Griphook agreed.

"Dobby!" Harry called, and immediately the house elf appeared, enthusiastic as always. Harry gave him his vault key and asked him and Griphook to take 30,000 Galleons from his vault, convert 10,000 of it to Pounds, and take it to the Grangers house.

When that was taken care of, Harry turned to Ragnok and said, "Before we go down to see the vault, you said there were two official reasons that I was asked here today. Is there another 'unofficial' reason?

Ragnok smiled at him for the second time that day. Bill would later comment that he thought that had never happened before. "You are correct, Mr. Potter. We have some questions for you and some information as well." He paused, looking around at the others. "Would you excuse us temporarily?" The other goblins and Bill got up to leave the room. Harry reached out to grab Hermione's hand as she rose and turned to Ragnok. "May she stay?"

Ragnok considered him carefully. "As you wish."

When everyone had left the room, Ragnok looked directly at Harry and asked, "Mr. Potter, would you say that you had unusual friends?"

Harry exchanged a nervous glance with Hermione. _What was he getting into now?_

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A/N Sorry about the cliffhanger. I needed a place to break off and the next section is pretty long. The next chapter will be along in a few days.


	6. New Allies

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Thanks again to Old Crow and mrs. vanblundht for their help with this story.

Now that I have six chapters up, I'll be slowing down the posting rate. I'll still try to post at least once every 5 -7 days.

**---------------**

**Chapter 6, New Allies **

"Mr. Potter, would you say that you had unusual friends?"

Harry was surprised at this question. Other than the fact that they were wizards, he didn't think that his friends were unusual. After exchanging a nervous glance with Hermione he answered, "I don't think so, no."

"When you first came here six years ago, you were accompanied by a half-giant. Would you consider him a friend?"

"Hagrid? Sure." Harry responded without a thought. "He's a great friend."

"I see. You attended the meeting today with the werewolf, Remus Lupin."

"Oh, right. Yeah he's a friend, too. Actually, he was one of my dad's best friends. He's sort of watching out for me now, and he's actually more of a mentor. When I first met him he was my professor, but he wants me to think of him like a friend now."

"Of course. And when we were scheduling today's meeting, messages were carried for you by an unusual house elf, who also responded to your summons just now. He was wearing clothing and did not seem to be bound to you, yet he did your bidding. How is that?"

"Dobby? No, he's not bound to me, he's just a friend who likes to help me." Harry replied, still wondering where this line of questioning was going.

"Indeed. And have you made the acquaintance of a centaur named Firenze?"

"Yes, I know Firenze. He teaches at Hogwarts now, but I met him my first year there. He really helped my out of a jam in the Forbidden Forest. He gave me a ride away from a dangerous situation."

"A centaur willingly permitted you to ride on his back?" Only years of self control kept Ragnok from showing his shock at this revelation.

"Yes, he did. Some of the other centaurs were rather upset with him, though."

Ragnok stared at Harry thoughtfully. Finally he stated, "In the lobby of your Ministry of Magic there is a farcical set of statues called 'The Fountain of Magical Brethren' which implies that the magical creatures represented are all brothers. You have had dealings with at least one member of each race represented there. Do you regard them as equal beings?"

Harry frowned as he considered the message behind this question. "Well, they're all different and have different abilities, so they're not exactly equal in that sense, but I don't think that any one of the races is necessarily better than any other." He thought about his answer for a moment and added, "I've met a few centaurs that wouldn't agree with that, though."

Ragnok nearly laughed. As it was, a snort escaped before he could control himself. The condescension of the centaurs toward other beings, all of which they considered to be their inferiors, was well known. He again regarded Harry thoughtfully for a long while.

"Mr. Potter, I don't believe you fully realize it, but you are very different from most wizards in your attitudes toward other magical beings. As such, it is in our best interest to see that you are successful in your current struggle with the Dark Lord."

Harry exchanged startled looks with Hermione. He started to respond but Ragnok held up a hand and he calmed down. Ragnok continued, "I apologize for my presumption. It has been clear to us that Lord Voldemort considers you his primary enemy and we are aware that you have fought and stopped him more than merely the one time for which you are renowned. While Gringotts has excellent sources of information, I am sure that you have things which must remain secret. This was obvious to us given how difficult it was to reach you. I assure you that we will respect your privacy. We only ask that you consider us allies in this struggle." He stood and Harry and Hermione did likewise. "For more than 500 years, Gringotts has stayed neutral in wizarding wars. We see this, however, as nothing less than a chance to completely change the nature of wizard-goblin relations. We know the stakes. Voldemort has made no secret of the contempt with which he holds any beings other than pure-blood wizards. You appear to be precisely the opposite. Both of you, as a matter of fact," he nodded at Hermione as he said this. "For us this is a question of survival. You must be victorious. We want to assist you in _any_ way possible."

Harry thought he understood the stress on the word _'any'_ but he turned to Hermione for confirmation. She understood his unspoken question and nodded to him. He thought quickly how to best frame his question. "Sir, please don't be offended by this question. Just tell me if is out of line and I'll never mention it again." He paused. Ragnok, whose head had jerked back involuntarily with the word 'Sir' nodded for him to continue. "If we could positively identify certain of your depositors as Death Eaters, what might you be able to do with that information?"

Ragnok's smile was much more evil than the ones Harry had seen earlier. "Those depositors might find that they have difficulty accessing their vaults."

Harry thought carefully. "Would you agree with me that any Death Eaters we fought last year at the Ministry would be considered confirmed?"

"I would indeed."

"Another individual that I would consider to be positively identified as a Death Eater would be Peter Pettigrew."

It was unheard of to see a goblin look startled. The expression on Ragnok's face was probably as close to startled as any wizard had ever witnessed. After a careful pause, he spoke evenly. "From the way you phrased that statement, Mr. Potter, am I to assume that you believe that Mr. Pettigrew is still alive?"

"I _know_ he is still alive. I have had two very unpleasant encounters with him in recent years." He paused and considered his next words. He decided he needed to show he trusted this goblin in response to his extraordinary offer. "Peter Pettigrew was instrumental in the resurrection of Lord Voldemort. I was there when it happened." Hermione gripped his arm as he said these words. He looked at her and she nodded her support.

Ragnok studied the two without expression as he processed this information. He began making connections with the information his goblin intelligence network had provided him on the exploits of Harry Potter.

"From your relationship with Mr. Black, we had already come to the conclusion that you did not believe him to be responsible for your parents' deaths. Hermione clutched his arm more tightly as she sensed Harry tense up at these words. "It is also obvious that you believe that he was falsely imprisoned. Would it be accurate to say that you might have been involved in his escape from Hogwarts?"

Hermione could feel that Harry was struggling to keep his composure as he relived these memories, so she stepped in for him. "We both were. We rescued him from the tower where he was being held. Please forgive us for not going into the details."

Ragnok turned to Hermione with increased respect in his eyes. "You have accompanied Mr. Potter on many of his exploits, have you not?"

"Many, but not all. I was present at his first encounter with Peter Pettigrew, but not the second."

"Very well. I will have our records changed to indicate that Mr. Pettigrew is alive and is a Death Eater." Ragnok said in a businesslike fashion. "From the Ministry encounter we have identified Mr. Avery, Mr. Crabbe, Mr. Dolohov, Mr. Jugson, Mr. Rabastan Lestrange, Mr. Rodolphus Lestrange, Mrs. Bellatrix Lestrange, Mr. MacNair, Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Mulciber, Mr. Nott, and Mr. Rookwood." He looked up. "Are there any other names we should know about?"

"Goyle, and Barty Crouch, Jr. He's dead, but I don't know anything about his estate."

"Indeed. He had previously been convicted and sentenced to Azkaban and was presumed to have died there. However our information is that he was later found alive at Hogwarts. I assume you know more about this case also?"

Hermione reached over and put an arm around Harry. She knew this story, and it wasn't going to be easy for Harry to relive. Her action was not lost on Ragnok. Harry began, "He escaped from Azkaban polyjuiced to appear as his mother. His father, Barty Sr., kept him locked up at home but he eventually escaped. He impersonated Alistair Moody at Hogwarts for a year. Near the end of the year, he killed his father, and he was responsible for tricking me into grabbing the portkey that took me to Voldemort, for the encounter I described earlier."

"I escaped from Voldemort after he was restored to his body, and made it back to Hogwarts. I was there while Professor Dumbledore interrogated Crouch under Veritaserum. During this interrogation he admitted killing his father. Then Fudge let a dementor kiss him."

Again, Ragnok was unable to hide his interest. He was more certain than ever that he had made the correct decision regarding Harry. "Mr. Potter, was there any significant event in the wizarding world during the last four years that you were _not _involved in?"

Harry and Hermione both laughed, breaking the tension that had been building up in Harry while he recounted these painful memories. Harry responded, "Believe me, sir, it's certainly not by choice. Trouble just seems to find me."

Ragnok smiled again and returned to business. "Are there any other names we should be aware of?"

Harry thought again. "Snape." He spat the name out venomously and Hermione shuddered.

"Of course. We are aware of the unfortunate circumstances of the Headmaster's death." Hermione again moved closer to Harry and put her hand on his. "Is that all?"

"Does the name Tom Riddle mean anything to you?"

Yes, we are familiar with that name. We were not aware that many wizards possessed this knowledge. But of course Albus Dumbledore would have known. Evidently he shared this information with you?

"No, actually Tom told me himself." The look on Ragnok's face was plain to interpret. _Why would he tell you of all people information that he clearly would want kept secret?_ Harry chose to alleviate his unexpressed curiosity. "He was about to kill me at the time. It didn't work out the way he intended. I killed him instead. That would be the second time I killed him. Unfortunately, he just won't stay dead."

"Mr. Potter, may I tell you that you are possibly the most interesting wizard I have ever met?" Ragnok said, shaking his head. "Please, is there anything else we can do for you?"

Harry was getting more comfortable with this goblin, and was really starting to like him. With another glance at Hermione, and seeing her unspoken approval in her eyes, he pressed on. "I have been learning as much as I can about Tom Riddle this year. We are searching for items which may have belonged to him. Are you aware of any of his possessions which may be stored here at Gringotts?"

"I am not, but I will have our staff check on this, and will alert them to be on the lookout for any such items. Can you give me an idea of the nature of the items you seek?"

"They would possibly be historical artifacts which may have once belonged to one of the Hogwarts founders."

"Very well. Is that all?"

Harry wasn't sure if he should keep pushing his luck, but one more thing was on his mind. "I don't want to insult Gringotts, but shortly after the first time I ever came here, I read that there had been an attempted break in."

Ragnok looked annoyed now. "I recall that incident very well. How does it concern you?"

Harry was immediately uncomfortable and wished he had kept his mouth shut, but Hermione suddenly said, "Ohhh," as she realized what he was talking about. Ragnok turned his attention to her.

"Apparently it does concern our discussion, if Ms. Granger has made the connection. Please continue."

"We later found out that the one who broke in was Professor Quirrell, who had Voldemort attached to the back of his head at the time." He suddenly realized how ridiculous that sounded. "I mean, Voldemort was possessing him. I was just concerned that if Voldemort discovered how to break in here once he might try to do it again."

"Mr. Potter, I believe that is the most bizarre statement that I have heard in all my years at Gringotts. If it was made by anyone other than you I would throw him out of this bank. I have come to understand, however, that in matters regarding you the bizarre is actually rather common. So I will merely assure you that steps have been taken to prevent a recurrence. If Voldemort or anyone he is currently possessing attempts to break in to Gringotts again, he will be in for a very uncomfortable surprise."

"Thank you Ragnok," Harry said with relief. "That was my only reason for bringing it up. I appreciate your reassurances." He and Hermione stood, as did Ragnok.

"I believe that concludes our business. May I assume that you and your mate would like to visit your vault now?" Ragnok had noted all of the nonverbal communication that had gone on between the two of them during the discussion, and had made the obvious conclusion.

Harry turned bright red and tried to stammer out a reply. Hermione, more than a little pink herself, managed to answer first. "Oh, we're not together like that. We're just very good friends. But yes, we would like to see the vault."

"My apologies for the misunderstanding. The two of you are obviously very close." That was something they all could agree with.

As they went out the door, Ragnok was shaking hands with Harry and Hermione and saying, "It was a pleasure, Mr. Potter. If there is ever anything I can do for you please do not hesitate to ask."

Harry and Hermione looked up to find Remus, Tonks, and Bill staring at them wide-mouthed. Bill started trying to speak. "He … you … he said … you didn't …"

Remus was the first one to achieve coherence. "Harry, you just met privately for an hour with the head goblin of Gringotts. That's unheard of. And that offer he just made you. We couldn't possibly have heard that right."

"Guys, I'm tired. Lets go visit the vault and go home. I'll tell you about it later. On second thought, Remus and Tonks, can you go see Fred and George and pick up anything they have for us? Bill, let's go to see the Black vault."

Noticing that Bill was still a little shell shocked, Harry winked at Hermione and said, "You know, Bill, your boss is a pretty nice guy." Bill clutched at one of the marble columns they were passing to keep himself from falling over. He just stared at them as Harry took Hermione's hand and casually strolled up to Griphook and followed him over to the carts that led to the vaults. "You coming?" he called over his shoulder to Bill.

-----

They didn't spend too much time in the Black family vault. It was enormous, and filled with magical objects of every kind. There also mountains of gold galleons and cabinets full of documents. Harry remarked to Bill that it looked like a lifetime job, but he just grinned and shook his head and said that he would have all the help he asked for, since Harry seemed to be a personal friend of the head goblin. "We'll have all this checked out and documented in no time. Maybe not before the wedding, but certainly by the end of July. By the way, you two are coming, right? Ginny told me to tell you … well, you probably don't want to hear her exact words, but if you don't want bats flying out of your nose you should probably come." Harry and Hermione assured him that they would be there and they left to take the portkey back home.

-----

"I'm exhausted." Harry said as they rejoined Remus and Tonks back at the Grangers. "I just want to sit out by the swimming pool for an hour, then it's my day to cook. Why don't you join us for supper? Hermione, do you think that would be OK with your parents?"

"As long as you're cooking, I don't think they would mind. I'll call them and check to make sure. Then I'll meet you out at the pool."

Harry put on the same swim trunks he had been wearing. He decided that tomorrow he would start swimming laps for exercise and would try out one of his other suits. For today, he was just relaxing, paddling slowly around the pool. When Hermione came out to join him he noted that she had worn yet another bikini. He had noticed that she had worn a different bikini every time they went to the pool, and that they seemed to be getting smaller. This one was a blue and green geometric print and had little strings that tied at her hips and held up a small triangle of fabric that covered her in front. As with her other suits, the triangle top barely covered her breasts.

Now that he and Hermione had clarified their relationship Harry was more comfortable with her swimwear. When they were at the pool the day after their long discussion she had mentioned that she didn't mind that he seemed to appreciate how she looked in a swimsuit, and that she took it as a compliment. He didn't think he ought to appreciate it _too_ much, though and he had a hard time not noticing how little of her was covered.

He climbed out of the pool and sat down next to Hermione in one of the lounge chairs. He noticed the relaxed, satisfied expression on her face as she laid back on the lounge, soaking up the sun.

"You enjoy just laying in the sun like that, don't you?"

She sat up a little to turn to answer him. "Yes, my mum and I both do. I guess I get it from her."

"I guess that's why you always looked so tan when you came back to school in the fall." Harry hesitated, obviously struggling with what he wanted to ask next. Hermione recognized this and made no response, patiently waiting for his question.

"Hermione, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course, Harry, why would you think you couldn't?"

"Well, I don't know if it's too personal, and I don't want you to get mad at me."

Hermione sat up and swung her legs around facing him, then leaned forward to grab his hands in hers. As she did so, he received an unexpected view down her top, and blushed as he tried to keep his eyes focused on her face.

Hermione fought to keep a smile off her face. She knew that Harry was just being a typical teenage boy, but it was still funny. She might be able to have some fun with him about this. She returned her thoughts to his question and said seriously, "Harry, let's have an understanding. As best friends, we won't be afraid to ask each other anything. If I think it's too personal or don't want to answer, I'll let you know politely. In the same way, if you don't want to answer you'll tell me without getting angry or sulking. We'll both trust each other not to keep things to ourselves unnecessarily." At Harry's frown she hastily continued, "I'm going to have to work to keep from nagging you to tell me things you don't want to and you're going to have to work to be more open with me."

Harry finally relaxed and nodded. "That's definitely something I have to work on. Thanks for being understanding about it."

"Now, what did you want to ask?"

"Well, I don't know much about girls' swimsuits, seeing as how you're the only girl I've ever seen in one, but there just doesn't seem to be much to yours. I was wondering if the suits you wear are normal for muggle girls, or are they smaller than average?"

Hermione smiled in relief. She hadn't been sure what question would have him so upset, but it made perfect sense now. "Well, this suit is on the small side, but it's still within the normal range for muggle teens. At the beaches we go to in France, the suits are mostly like this or even smaller. I have a much smaller one than this but I haven't worn it yet this summer."

Harry's mind boggled. _How could a swimsuit get much smaller than that one?_

'In fact," Hermione continued after a silent debate with herself, "normally my mum and I don't wear the tops with our swimsuits here around the pool." She saw the expected shock on his face and laughed as she continued. "It's a habit we picked up years ago. Don't worry, this pool is private enough that no one can see us. We haven't been doing it this summer because we didn't want to embarrass you."

Harry finally found his voice and tried to think of something to say that he hoped wouldn't sound silly. "Uh, why?" was all he could come up with.

"Well, it just feels good. It especially feels nice swimming without a top, and there's also a feeling of freedom just lying there exposed to the sun and the breeze. You like to feel the sun and the breeze on your bare chest, don't you?"

"Yeah, I guess I do. I never thought about it before."

At this point Tonks and Remus joined them. Tonks had borrowed one of Hermione's swimsuits but Remus had stayed dressed. Harry noted immediately that he had been right about Tonks having a navel piercing and raised an eyebrow toward Hermione who smiled back at him in agreement. They talked for a while about what had happened at Gringotts. Tonks reminded Harry to read the letter that Sirius had left him which would explain what he had been thinking. She assured him that as far as she was concerned the guardianship was in name only, it was obvious to her that he could take care of himself, and so she wouldn't interfere with what they were planning. Harry now realized why she had been so concerned on the train and earlier in the week when they had been discussing their plans. Eventually Harry looked at his watch and announced that it was time for him to start dinner.

Tonight he had selected chicken in easy sauce, which didn't require a lot of attention to make. He merely had to put six chicken breasts in a pan and cover them with a sauce made from cream of mushroom soup and cheese and bake them for an hour. While they were baking, he had plenty of time to make some rice and green beans, and get changed, and still be able to continue talking with the others. Hermione and Tonks offered to help and, not sure of their cooking skills, he allowed Tonks to make the beans and Hermione to set the table. He would have Dan select the wine later.

While they were in the kitchen, Tonks explained the training program she had in mind. "First, you need to get into better shape. You too, Hermione. You'll have to improve your endurance and your strength. I know you've played a lot of quidditch, but that doesn't exercise all of your muscles. You should do both running and swimming regularly. That will get you into condition. You can see how far you can go before you get tired and use that as a measure of your endurance."

Hermione interjected, "We just picked up some exercise clothing Sunday; we could go out running every morning."

Tonks nodded. "It would also be good if you could do some weight training. Do you have access to any weights?"

Harry shook his head, but replied, "Dudley has some but I don't know if he would let us use them. I've seen him work out so I have an idea of what to do. We could buy some but I don't know where we could put them."

"We have an area in the basement we might be able to use," Hermione put in. "I'll check with my dad. He's the only one who uses it."

"For your spell training, I've reserved an unused Auror training ground out in the country. I didn't think your parents would be too happy to have you practicing blasting hexes around the house. It will also get around the restriction on underage magic for Harry." Harry recalled his discussion with Hermione about the detection of underage magic. They wouldn't catch him in any case here at the Grangers because Hermione was of age, yet Tonks either didn't know or was maintaining the sham. He had a nagging feeling that there was something important that he was overlooking about this discovery and decided to bring it up again with Hermione when he had a chance. Meanwhile, Tonks was continuing. "I have a portkey that you can use to get there tomorrow; after that you can apparate there." She looked at Harry. "I assume you can apparate even though you don't have a license yet?" Harry smiled over at Hermione who merely looked down and shook her head, but not before Harry caught the smile on her face. Tonks noticed this interchange and commented in a prim voice, "Condoning rule breaking, now, are we Ms. Granger?" They all got a laugh out of that. Tonks finished up as the Grangers arrived home. "Either Remus or I will be over to get you tomorrow at 10:00. Wear comfortable clothing that you can fall down in. Figure on being there all afternoon."

Dan and Emma were impressed with Harry's efforts for dinner. Harry made a comment that at least something good had come out of his time at the Dursleys, which made Hermione wince, but it went unnoticed by her parents. Dan picked out a wine Harry had never heard of, but that went particularly well with the dish he had prepared. They had a long supper as Tonks entertained them with her metamorph abilities, Remus explained what was and wasn't true about werewolves, and Harry and Hermione took turns telling them about the trip to Gringotts. They mentioned that Harry was now very wealthy without giving out any exact numbers, and left out the private meeting with Ragnok. Hermione's eyes sparkled as she described her bequest from Sirius, the entire library at Grimmauld Place.

After supper Emma took them all into the family room and pulled out a bag. "I bought something that I think will be useful for you today." She pulled out six cellular phones. "We wanted to be able to keep in touch with Hermione while we were gone, and then I also thought that this might be a good way for you to communicate amongst yourselves. It certainly would be faster than your owls!"

Harry and Hermione agreed that it was a great idea, while Tonks and Remus weren't sure. The Grangers kept one, Harry and Hermione decided to keep one each for themselves, and they gave one to Tonks and one to Remus. They decided it wouldn't be worth it to give one to Ron, since he wouldn't be comfortable using a 'fellytone' and once they had the mirrors he wouldn't need it. They showed Remus and Tonks how to use the phones, and put each other's numbers on speed dial. The adults finally came around after they all went into separate rooms and practiced calling each other, and they realized how useful this muggle invention could be.

Before Remus and Tonks left, they gave Harry and Hermione the things they had picked up from the twins. In addition to the two mirrors, they had dragonhide boots and vests, concealment cloaks that would help them stay inconspicuous when they visited Diagon Alley, and some explosive devices that Ron had decided could be used in a diversionary manner during a battle. They also had wand holders, for both the wrist and the leg. Tonks told them that she frequently used the leg holder strapped to her thigh, but some Aurors preferred to attach them to their calves.

There were also two boxes of small, egg shaped objects. Tonks explained that one type contained the darkness powder that Malfoy had used so effectively during the attack on Hogwarts. She silenced Harry's angry retort when she showed him the other type. It would instantly dispel the darkness created by the original. These were brand new and not for sale to the public. They immediately grasped the combat implications. An enemy could have his concealing darkness instantly ripped away and be exposed for an attack. The two types of eggs were different colors and also different textures so they could be easily distinguished from each other.

The most unusual items were small disks that the twins called cloaking charms. They could be attached to an item and the effect would be as though it had a permanent disillusionment charm on it. This charm had the advantage of not requiring any attention from the spell caster to maintain, and wouldn't dissipate even if the owner was rendered unconscious, the way a normal disillusionment charm would. The twins sent their apologies that the cloaking charms only worked on small items, not something as large as a person. They would be perfect for concealing something like a spare wand, though. Ron had wanted them to buy two more invisibility cloaks, but those were really rare and they hadn't been able to find any for sale.

When the couple left, Harry and Hermione decided to try out the mirrors. Harry went into his room and Hermione into hers and they first called each other. Just as Sirius had explained the year before, you had to say the other person's name into the mirror, and the other person had to respond with your name before the two mirrors would start to work. Then Harry decided to call Ron. They quickly discovered that they didn't have 3-way capability, only one of them could talk to Ron at a time. Hermione joined him in his room as he was talking to Ron so she could hear what Ron had to say.

"… and I thought we should all get some top of the line brooms, what do you think?" Ron was saying eagerly. Harry looked over at Hermione and her first reaction was to roll her eyes. _Boys and their toys!_ But she did realize that they should have as many different transportation options as they could get, and nodded her approval.

"OK, good idea," Harry responded to the mirror after getting the go-ahead. "But Hermione doesn't need a Firebolt. Get her a high quality touring broom. It should be capable of going fast, but doesn't need the maneuverability of the Firebolt and could use more stability. She's not going to do a Wronsky feint on the thing after all." Harry also confirmed that Ron would be able to join them for training with Tonks the next morning.

"Harry, do you want to talk to Ginny?" Ron asked as they finished the conversation.

"Uh, no, not right now," Harry said uncomfortably. He wasn't quite sure what kind of relationship he had now with Ginny after breaking up with her, and didn't really want to explain to her what they were up to. "Maybe some other time."

"OK, mate, whatever you say." Ron was clearly disappointed. He had wanted Harry and Ginny to get together for a long time, and was hoping the breakup was only temporary. "You know she'd love to hear from you." Harry acknowledged this and closed the connection. He didn't notice the sad expression on Hermione's face.

Harry turned to Hermione with a thoughtful look on his face. After a moment it changed to one of resignation. He sighed, and finally spoke up. "I know it's getting late, but I want to read the letter from Sirius." He hesitated before going on. "Would you stay here and read it with me?"

"Of course, Harry, but let's take it downstairs to the family room. Mum and Dad will leave us alone if we ask, and it will be more comfortable there." She smiled to herself as she left unspoken the other reason for her suggestion. While this most likely had never crossed Harry's mind, it probably wasn't a good idea for her to stay this long in Harry's bedroom. She had a feeling her parents, particularly her mum, weren't convinced that she and Harry were 'just friends' and would wonder if something were going on that they should be concerned about.

"We really ought to get some butterbeers here," said Hermione as she retrieved two cokes from the fridge. They settled down on the couch and Harry pulled out the letter. She scooted over next to him so she could read over his shoulder.

_Dear Harry,_

_I need to apologize to you for so many things. I apologize for telling you this in a letter instead of to your face. I apologize for getting myself killed (I must have if you're reading this) instead of being here for you. Mostly, though, I apologize for not being there for you for the twelve years we spent in prison. My stupid temper made me go after Peter instead of taking care of you like James and Lily wanted and the result was that we both went to prison, me to Azkaban and you to the Dursleys. Harry, you have to believe me that if I'd had any idea what it was like for you there I would have broken out somehow and come to rescue you._

_Unfortunately, my time in prison didn't end when I escaped Azkaban. Even though you saved my life in the tower, I failed you again when I let Peter escape, and now I'm locked up here in the first place I ever escaped from, my family home. James rescued me the first time, you rescued me the second time, but now I have to try to rescue myself. I'm going insane here not being able to do anything. Patience has never been one of my strong points, and what little I had is now gone. I'm leaving here and going after Peter. Only by finding him and turning him in will I ever be free. I don't know if you can understand this but I hope you do._

_By now you know about the arrangements I've made. Tonks has agreed to be your official guardian as a favor to her favorite cousin, and Remus is willing to help her any way he can. Don't let them know I'm telling you this, but there's definitely something between the two of them. If you can figure out a way to help it along, do it. Unfortunately Remus is as stubborn as me (and you now that I think about it) and will probably need a push. They both deserve the happiness._

_It's June as I write this. I'm only waiting for your term to end so I can see you one last time before I go. I'm sure you know that if you were ever in trouble I'd come for you in an instant, just like I know you'd do for me. In fact, it is my deepest hope that when you read this it's because I died saving you. If I did then I will in some way have fulfilled my promise to your parents._

_My last piece of advice is to never forget who your friends are. I had James and Remus, you have Ron and Hermione. You know you can trust them. Be sure you don't push them away. They'll always be there for you; you just need to let them. There are other people in your life who care about you too, and will also help you with whatever you need. That includes most of the Weasleys (you know the exception), especially the younger ones._

_Goodbye Harry. I know this money can't even begin to make up for what we had and should have had together, but I hope you will make good use of it. Spend whatever it takes to make you and those around you as safe as possible. I know it's not necessary to tell you to help those who need it, because that's the way you are by nature. Remember, James and Lily and I will always be watching over you._

_Sirius_

Tears were flowing down Hermione's face as she finished the letter, and she saw that Harry was struggling to hold back his emotions. Grabbing him in a fierce hug, she said, "Just let it out Harry. It's OK." She felt hot tears fall against her neck and soak into her shirt as he finally broke down and grieved for his losses, not just Sirius but also his parents and Dumbledore.

Eventually, his emotions spent, he pulled back and looked at her with gratitude in his eyes. "Thanks, Hermione," he said simply. "Thanks for being here with me. Thanks for being you."

He turned and stared off at nothing in particular as he recalled something Dumbledore had told him years ago. "The Professor said once that those we love never truly leave us. I think I understand better now what he was talking about."

With that Hermione took his hand and led him out to the other room where they said goodnight to Dan and Emma and headed off to bed.

---------------


	7. The Lessons Begin

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Thanks again to Old Crow and mrs. vanblundht for their help with this story.

A reviewer last chapter said something about Hermione being a nudist. Hermione and Emma are not nudists, they merely enjoy topless sunbathing and swimming. In Europe this is a relatively common thing. Unlike here in the breastphobic US, female toplessness on beaches is not considered nudity there.

**---------------**

**Chapter 7, The Lessons Begin**

Saturday, June 21

The next morning Harry and Hermione were up early to go running. Hermione insisted they stretch first and Harry couldn't help but watch appreciatively as Hermione stretched in her sports bra and tight shorts. He tried to mimic her movements but found that he wasn't as flexible as she was. They managed less than a mile of running before they had to slow to a walk for a while, but were able to run again at the end as they returned to the house. They grabbed a quick breakfast and Harry decided that he wanted to do some swimming before showering and getting dressed. Hermione just smiled and shook her head at his eagerness as he bounded up the stairs. She followed him upstairs and went into her room to change.

When she got down to the pool, Harry was already swimming. She immediately noticed that he was wearing one of the racing suits today. _It certainly looks better on him than that baggy suit he has been wearing. Oh my! _ She couldn't stop the blush that came to her face as she looked closer. _I never noticed what a nice tight bum he has! I guess he's not the only one who likes the way his best friend looks in a swimsuit._

Hermione tried to figure out a way to compliment him on the suit without embarrassing him. "Looking good, Harry!" she called out as she dove into the pool and started swimming. After a few laps she pulled even with him at the end of the pool, and they stopped for a minute. "You know Harry, you should wear tight clothing more often. When you wear baggy stuff it makes you look skinny, but when it fits more snugly it makes you look lean."

Harry considered this for a moment and nodded. "Lean sure sounds better than skinny. I've been called skinny all my life. Even I thought I looked skinny when I looked at the mirror in that other suit." He pushed off the wall and floated on his back, trying to do a backstroke. Eventually, with Hermione swimming along beside him and offering advice he got the arm movements right and they swam a few more laps. He tried to watch how Hermione did the different strokes. She was a much better swimmer than he was and could catch him easily. He had the most trouble with the breaststroke, and resolved that he would just stick with freestyle and backstroke. When they had finished their laps Harry turned to her again. "Hermione, thanks for getting this kind of suit for me. I can't believe how good it feels swimming in it compared to that other one. It almost feels like I don't have anything on … I mean … you know …" as he began to turn red.

Hermione had to stop giggling before she could respond. When she calmed down she just nodded and said, "I understand exactly what you're trying to say. I feel the same way about swimming without a top."

They finished their laps and showered and changed for their training. At 10:00 the portkey activated, and they found themselves in the middle of an open field, with different kinds of barriers scattered about, and a few buildings at the edges. Tonks and Remus were both there to greet them, and Ron had popped into existence just as they had. Tonks took one look at Harry and burst out laughing. Harry had worn his 'I'm Moody Without My Chocolate' T-shirt and she couldn't help thinking about the old Auror.

After she settled down Remus began by explaining that they would be learning different kinds of spells, but that there was more to fighting than spell knowledge. There was also tactics – how the spells were combined with movement and coordination with other fighters. The tactics were different depending if you were dueling one on one, two on two, one on two, one or two against a group of opponents, and so forth. They would be learning and practicing both offensive and defensive spells. Harry realized that this was what he had been trying to do without knowing it with the DA, but now understood that he had much to learn. If he had known this kind of thing that year, he could have created a truly effective fighting force. It occurred to him to wonder how the battle at the Department of Mysteries might have turned out differently if he had.

Harry snapped his attention back as Remus continued in professor mode. "Effective spells involve both power and speed. In some cases you want to get off spells as quickly as possible. A primary case would be if you were outnumbered by weaker foes. Against a smaller number of stronger foes, you need to concentrate more on power. And very important is developing the ability to cast spells quietly. If an opponent doesn't have advance knowledge of what's coming, it's harder for him to defend." Harry grimaced, remembering his humiliation against Snape. He realized that he would have to ask later about Occlumency training, too.

"You are probably already familiar with most of the offensive spells we'll use – stunners, slashing hexes, bludgeoning hexes. Reducto can also be effective against people, not just objects. We'll also use bone-breaking hexes, which can be quite incapacitating. What you may not know is that there are specific shield charms that can be used against each offensive spell. Protego is an all-purpose charm, but if you can recognize a hex or jinx and cast the corresponding shield charm, it's much more effective. They're all variations on Protego."

Remus paused to let them take this information in. Harry noticed that Hermione was delighted to learn something new, and looked like she wished she had parchment and a quill to take notes. Ron, of course, was the opposite, with a worried expression on his face as he wondered how he was going to keep all of these spells straight. Harry shared his concern, but accepted that it was just something he had to do. He'd stay up studying with Hermione as long as was necessary, just like he always used to do back at school. Hermione apparently had the same thought and looked at him and nodded, then touched Ron on the arm and said in a low voice, "don't worry, we'll get it."

Remus continued. "But the best defense isn't necessarily a shield charm. You can block spells by transfiguring something to hide behind, or you can block them by summoning something in front of you." Harry nodded as he recalled Dumbledore doing that when fighting Voldemort at the Ministry as Remus concluded, "or you can duck and make it miss. If you can make a hex miss you without casting a shield charm, you can cast an offensive spell back that much quicker. So we're also going to work on agility and practice dodging spells.

They quickly learned why Tonks had told them to wear clothing they could fall down in. For more than an hour, Harry, Ron, and Hermione practiced dodging, dropping and rolling as Remus and Tonks took turns firing spells at them. They finished by combining to go two on one against each of the students. Harry was the quickest of the three, and able to react much faster to the spells. He didn't get hit very often in the one on one drills, but didn't fare as well in the combined attacks. Ron was pretty good at it. He wasn't as naturally quick as Harry, but years of dodging and running from attacking older brothers had developed quite a self preservation instinct. Hermione was, surprisingly, not too bad. Harry had never thought of her as the athletic type, but from his observations of the week past she was clearly in good shape. With her smaller size she presented much less of a target than him or Ron. She had a tendency to overthink while trying to figure out where the next attack was going. She was right a lot, but when she was wrong she couldn't recover fast enough and got nailed.

Harry couldn't help thinking while watching Hermione twist her body out of the way of another spell how Ginny would fare in this exercise. She was smaller even than Hermione, and had at least as much athletic ability as Ron, was probably more agile, and certainly would have the same self preservation instincts from being used for target practice by older brothers. It made him realize how much he missed her, but he knew breaking up with her had been the right thing to do. He just wished it didn't hurt so much. From what Ron and Bill had said at least she didn't seem to be mad at him.

They broke for lunch and listened to Tonks' critique of their performance as they ate. While she pointed out what they had done wrong, she assured them that they had done great for the first time and would improve with practice.

After lunch they learned the new defensive charms for the remainder of the afternoon. Harry couldn't believe how many variations there were of a single spell. When he mentioned it to Remus, he was told that many spells had variations that would augment different features of the spell. All the shield spells used the same incantation, 'Protego' but had different wand movements. To no one's surprise, Hermione picked them up the quickest. By the end of the day she had learned them all, and was able to produce the appropriate wand movement as Tonks called out the names of different offensive spells. While her new shields weren't very powerful yet, that would come with practice. Harry was getting the hang of it, and could do about half of the correct wand movements, and Ron also got several.

"Cripes, Hermione," complained Ron good-naturedly as they watched her being tested by Tonks. "How did you ever _not_ get an O on your defense OWL?"

Remus whirled around when he heard Ron's comment, shock on his face. "You didn't get an O in defense?" he asked Hermione. "You were the best student in the class!" Then he glanced sheepishly at Harry. "OK, maybe the second best."

Hermione had blushed at Ron's praise, but now looked even more uncomfortable. "Well, it's a long story," she finally admitted. "The witch who examined me was annoyed that Anthony Goldstein, a halfblood, and I were doing so much better than Greengrass and Goyle, who were purebloods. They couldn't do most of the spells right because of Umbridge." She spat out the hated witch's name with a vehemence that surprised Tonks and Remus, but not Harry and Ron. "Since Anthony was also in the DA, he was good at them too. It was killing her that a muggleborn was so much better than her precious purebloods. I think she must have been a Slytherin in school. So she started telling me that I was doing some of the defensive spells wrong, and didn't take too kindly to me objecting, so I just kept my mouth shut. She only gave me an Acceptable, which averaged with my Outstanding on the written part to give me an Exceeds Expectations overall."

Remus was furious. "That's outrageous! That's the kind of thing you might have expected from the likes of Fudge and Umbridge, but I never thought the Examining Board would be so prejudiced."

"Well, the whole Examining Board isn't like that," reassured Hermione. "I appealed the grade and Madame Marchbanks herself came out to Hogwarts last fall and retested me. I ended up with the second highest score of the year," she said, now grinning over at Harry. "You'll never guess who beat me, Mr. Extra-credit-for-showing-off-and-producing-a-patronus-right-there-during-the-examination."

Now it was Harry's turn to be embarrassed, and Ron and Tonks took it upon themselves to tease him about it unmercifully while they rested up before returning home. Remus just looked on proudly, while Hermione smiled contentedly.

Before they left, Harry turned to Remus and said quietly, "I think I still need to learn Occlumency. Who can I get to teach me?" The others were instantly attentive. They all knew about the ill-fated attempt at learning Occlumency from the year before and the disastrous result. "Dumbledore said he would teach me last year, but we never got around to it. Malfoy is apparently good at it so it can't be that hard. There must be people who can teach it besides Dumbledore and Snape."

Hermione knew how hard it was for him to talk about this, remembering that night, and she came over and put her hand on his arm and gave it a squeeze. "We could probably find some books on it, Harry. I can help you study it."

Remus shook his head, smiling inside at the studious witch's solution to nearly every problem. "That can be a start, Hermione, but to know how well you've succeeded you need a skilled Legilimens. I know one who might be willing to help us," he hesitated, looking thoughtfully at Harry, "but she's refused to have anything to do with it for the last fifteen years. Perhaps you can persuade her to come out of retirement."

"Who are you talking about? Why would I be able to persuade her?" Harry frowned. "Is this another one like Slughorn? Someone who just wants to cash in on my fame?" He was starting to get seriously annoyed, but he supposed he could bear it. He really needed to learn this.

"No, she's not like Slughorn. She had personal reasons for withdrawing. I won't say any more until I can contact her and see if she's interested."

They all said goodbye and returned home. Fortunately, it wasn't Harry's turn to cook that night because he and Hermione were exhausted from the hard day of training. After Harry nodded off twice and Hermione once while they were trying to teach him how to play pinochle after dinner, the Grangers shooed the teens off to bed.

-----

Sunday, June 22

As Harry dressed in his new dress slacks, shirt and tie the following morning, no longer needing to borrow from Dan, he couldn't help thinking about how much his life had changed in the past week. The new wardrobe was but a small part of it. _Has it really only been seven days that I've been here?_ It was hard to believe how comfortable he had become with Hermione's parents in just one week, how much he enjoyed being here. In less than seven days his life would change again when Dan and Emma left and he and Hermione moved into the new house. His relationship with Hermione had changed also. The friendship, which had always been there, had become more clearly defined and he was definitely closer to her now than he had ever been. He was amazed at how much better he knew her, how much more he had learned about her life in just one week than he had in six years previously. And he was seeing a side of her personality that hadn't been much in evidence before.

This week at the church service Harry decided to try to sing along with the songs. Hermione showed him the song book with the words and the music, and although the notes on the page didn't mean anything to him, some of the tunes were easy enough that he could pick them up. He was surprised to hear the Grangers' names mentioned in the prayers. Apparently the minister prayed every week for those members who were traveling, and he announced that the Granger family would be leaving on a long trip that week. Harry decided that could be helpful; if it became general knowledge that the Grangers were out of the country Hermione would be safer.

During the last song, Harry was startled when Hermione started singing a different tune than everyone else. Emma, on his other side was still singing the original tune and indicated that he should continue to follow along with her. As he paid more attention, he could hear that Dan was singing something different as well. He noticed that Hermione's tune blended very nicely with the original tune, not at all like at Hogwarts when they sang the school song and everyone picked a tune at random. Harry saw from the credits at the bottom of the page that the melody was an old Welsh lullaby several hundred years old, but the words were written just ten years ago. It was a haunting, yet comforting melody. As the song ended Hermione and Emma's eyes were moist.

Emma and Hermione explained on the way home. The song that had closed the service, 'Go My Children With My Blessing' was one of their family's favorites, and they enjoyed singing it in harmony. Hermione had switched to the alto part, and Dan the bass, while Emma sang soprano.

Harry was suddenly overcome with sadness. Here was a family of good people, who liked to sing together and laugh together, kind and compassionate people who only made the world a better place, but were about to be torn apart because some raving lunatic had decided that they didn't deserve to exist. Dan and Emma were about to leave their beautiful daughter who they loved dearly, and might never see her or sing with her again. He felt moisture come to his own eyes.

Hermione, seeing her friend suddenly go quiet, had an idea where his thoughts had taken him, as she had had similar thoughts during the hymn, and suspected her mother had as well. A glance back from Emma confirmed her guess. Trying to cheer him up and make a positive statement about their future, Emma said, "Harry, you have a nice tenor voice. Sometime we'll have to get together and teach you to sing in parts as well. Then we'll be able to do four-part harmony.

Harry nodded, trying to wipe his eyes surreptitiously. It would be nice to be able to learn to sing as well as the Grangers. Harmony with Hermione and her family – he liked the sound of that.

-----

Tonks had given them times when the training area would be deserted, and told them they could apparate there and practice then. Harry and Hermione therefore spent an hour practicing the shield charms they had learned the day before. By the time they were finished, Harry had been able to create most of the shields and Hermione's were getting stronger.

Before they apparated back home, Harry had an idea. "Hermione, what do you know about portkeys?"

"Well, there are several kinds. Probably the most common are like the ones we used yesterday and Friday, where they're set to activate at a specific time and are single use. There are also ones that can be used at any time, but must be activated, usually by a wand tap. Another kind is permanently active, and instantly transports you whenever you touch it. They're really dangerous to leave lying around so they aren't used much." Harry grimaced. He was all too familiar with this kind. It had taken him and Cedric to Voldemort at the end of the Triwizard Tournament.

"Do you know how to make one?"

"I can probably learn, but they take a lot of energy to create. That's why apparation is preferred by most people, or floo powder. Portkeys are usually only used for multiple transport, or for underage kids, or when you don't know where your destination is. That's why we needed one yesterday, but from now on we can apparate here."

"I was thinking it would be useful to have a few for emergencies, in case we need to get out of a tight spot in a hurry, or get to a safe location."

"That's probably a good idea. I'll try to learn how to make one. It should be the wand activated kind then. I just have to warn you, I'll probably be so tired out that you'll have to carry me around for the rest of the day," she teased.

"Nah," he countered. "I'll just plop you down in the library and come and get you at dinner time." She responded by sticking her tongue out at him and they both laughed. "Come on, let's apparate back home and get some laps in this afternoon."

They popped back into the Granger family room and went up to their rooms to change. As they approached the door to the back yard, Hermione put her hand on Harry's arm to stop him. "Just a second, let me check first." She went out to the pool and was back in a few seconds. At his inquiring look she explained. "I told you the other day, my mom likes to be topless at the pool. I needed to check to see if she was so you wouldn't be embarrassed."

"Oh." was the most intelligent response Harry could muster to this information. Hermione smiled and took pity on him. Rather than leave him standing there dumbfounded, she took his arm and pulled him out to the pool. Once there, Emma, fortunately attired in both pieces of her swimsuit, greeted him warmly and they both got into the pool and did their laps.

When they had finished and climbed out, Harry started toweling off but Hermione just smiled at him and grabbed her wand and muttered a quick drying charm and her hair was instantly dry. As she settled on her lounge chair, Emma looked up and said, "Remus called earlier. He actually used the cell phone we gave him. He said to tell you he had some lessons arranged for you tonight, and that it would include dinner. He said you would know what he was talking about."

Harry and Hermione looked at each other in surprise. "Do you think he could have arranged Occlumency lessons so soon?" Harry guessed.

"Maybe," Hermione shrugged. "What are we supposed to wear?" she asked, turning back to her mum.

Emma burst into laughter. "I told your father that would be the first thing you'd ask. He took the call from Remus, and it never occurred to either of them to find out," she said shaking her head. "Men! Fortunately, I called back right away and asked. He said dress robes. Is that good enough?"

Hermione agreed that that was enough information, and shortly before 7:00 the two were wearing the dress robes they had purchased the prior August at Madame Malkins. Hermione shuddered as she recalled the incident with Draco, and Harry's insistence that the ferret was trying to cover up a dark mark on his arm. She resolved yet again to trust Harry's instincts more often. Harry noticed that while Hermione had not done up her hair like she had for the Yule Ball, she had used the Sleakeasy potion to smooth it out, so that it fell in waves over her shoulders, and he told her how nice she looked. She smiled gratefully and returned that he looked very nice in his dress robes as well.

Remus arrived and informed them that he would double apparate them to their destination, and that they would apparate there themselves in the future. He took Hermione first, then a few seconds later was back for Harry and they disappeared with a pop while Dan and Emma watched, just shaking their heads.

They found themselves in the entrance hall of an enormous mansion. Remus just smiled at them and disappeared, leaving them on their own. They didn't have long to wait.

"Harry, Hermione!" They heard a familiar voice and looked up to see Neville Longbottom hurrying down a long staircase to greet them.

"Neville?" they both said simultaneously. "What are you doing here?" Harry continued.

"Um, I live here," Neville answered looking strangely at them. Seeing the uncomprehending looks on their faces, he went on, "didn't Professor Lupin tell you that you were coming here for dinner?"

Eventually they got it all sorted out and with a look Harry and Hermione silently agreed that Remus would pay for this prank. Just as they finished the usual '_How are you, how's your summer been so far'_ pleasantries a thin, elegant woman in immaculate dress robes glided into the room. Neville immediately got serious and nervously began the introductions.

"Harry, Hermione, this is my grandmother, Augusta Longbottom. Gran, this is Hermione Granger and Harry Potter."

"Yes, I believe we met once before, at the hospital," she said, looking them over carefully.

Mrs. Longbottom (they immediately knew that there was no way they were ever going to call her Augusta) led them into the drawing room and asked them to be seated, saying that she had some things to tell them before they would be having dinner.

"Harry, Hermione, I feel like I already know quite a bit about you. Neville speaks most favorably about you, and quite frequently at that. I would first like to thank you both for everything you've done for Neville at school, both academically – here she nodded at Hermione – and in other ways," she said looking at Harry. "You have both been a most positive influence in his life. Although, I must confess that after your little adventure at the Ministry of Magic last year I was initially tempted to think otherwise. But Neville persuaded me, and I had never seen him so passionate about anything before, that you were there for the best of reasons, even though it turned out tragically. From him I have been reminded that there are other important things in life. For example, besides books and cleverness," she said now looking directly into Hermione's eyes. "There are also friendship, and bravery … and love. Isn't that correct Miss Granger?"

Harry and Hermione shared a quick glance, both recalling the situation where that phrase had first come up. _But how does she know about that? Especially the last word, which I didn't even say out loud,_ thought Hermione. But she had no time to ponder as the woman spoke again.

"I think I need to explain some things to you, and Neville needs to hear this too." Mrs. Longbottom continued. "When I …when we lost Frank and Alice I was angry at the world. Everyone was celebrating you, Harry, and ignoring what happened to Frank and Alice just a few days later. And I suppose it wasn't exactly a picnic for you either, having just lost your parents as well, but I wasn't really thinking about that at the time. I'm afraid I rather resented you for a long time. Has it ever occurred to you what you have in common with Neville, having both lost your parents within a week of each other?"

"As a matter of fact, it has," responded Harry. "Not to mention that our birthdays are a few days apart and …" he realized suddenly that he was on the verge of revealing something he shouldn't.

"Then, you know?" Mrs. Longbottom asked sharply, her eyes piercing into his. "Ah yes, I see you do. Well then, perhaps you can understand why I decided to try to keep Neville safe by withdrawing to ourselves. I even secretly hoped that he would be a squib," she admitted, while Neville squirmed uncomfortably. Harry recalled the story Neville had told him about being dropped out the window by his uncle. "Even when it turned out that he was a wizard and he got his Hogwarts letter, I resisted buying him his own wand. I suppose I secretly wanted him to be a below average wizard so that he wouldn't be thought a threat to … certain persons."

It was very clear by now to Harry that Mrs. Longbottom knew at least of the existence of the prophecy, if not the entire contents, and he realized looking over at Hermione that she had figured out the same thing. There was something about those eyes …

Mrs. Longbottom continued. "Finally I realized I was wrong. This year I've watched him start to become the powerful wizard he should have been all along, start to turn into a man so much like his father. Watched him go from a timid boy to a confident, courageous man. I'm so proud of him, and he says it's all due to you two."

Harry was reminded of how Neville had been willing to sacrifice himself during the battle at Hogwarts. "Thank you, but it's not just us ma'am. We could see the courage in him even during our first year. There's a reason he was sorted into Gryffindor, you know." He could see Neville sit up proudly as he spoke these words. He realized that even though he often overlooked Neville, here was another friend he could trust with his life.

Mrs. Longbottom seemed to be reading his thoughts. "Do you know, you and Neville were best friends as babies? You played together all the time. Your mothers …" she shook her head as though these memories were too painful to recall. "In any case, now I'm in a position to help you. You see, I used to be the Ministry and the Order's top Occlumency instructor and I'm a master Legilimens."

The stunned silence that greeted this announcement was broken by Neville. "So that's why I could never get away with anything when I was a kid!"

This outburst broke the tension and they all had a good laugh. Glancing at Hermione's reaction, Harry realized that she had figured it out but kept quiet in order to be polite and let Mrs. Longbottom tell them herself. In the ensuing conversation Mrs. Longbottom revealed that she had actually been Snape's instructor, to her everlasting regret. "That may be the most evil man I've ever met. I'm afraid we did not finish on good terms and that's probably the reason he's picked on Neville so much."

"He's picked on Harry even more than me." Neville interjected. "Why does he hate you so much?"

"Long story," Harry muttered, but Mrs. Longbottom interrupted before he could say anything more to announce that it was time for dinner.

Harry gaped at the elaborate dining room and table setting. Keeping a sharp eye on Hermione and Mrs. Longbottom, he thought he managed everything correctly, or at least well enough to avoid any major etiquette breaches. The conversation was pleasant, and Neville filled them in on news from their classmates while Mrs. Longbottom made a few comments on the current state of the wizarding world. To Harry's surprise she subscribed to both the Quibbler and the Daily Prophet. Hermione excitedly informed Neville that Ginny and Luna, along with the rest of the fifth years, would be able to take their OWL's after all while Harry tried to hide a smirk. Hermione caught him however, and gave him her 'you'll pay for that, Potter' look.

After dinner they returned to the drawing room and Mrs. Longbottom got down to business. She had decided that Neville would join them in learning Occlumency, and Harry felt good about that, since he had wanted for some time to be able to tell Neville about the prophecy.

"You first begin by clearing your minds," Mrs. Longbottom began, "and I will show you briefly how it feels to have your mind invaded." Harry's spirits dropped with a thud. _This wasn't going to be any different than before. If he couldn't do this with Snape, how would it be any different this time?_

He soon realized that there were two major differences. He had an instructor who didn't mind questions, and a classmate who wasn't shy about asking them. Hermione's hand immediately shot up into the air. Mrs. Longbottom smiled at her and told her that this wasn't a classroom and she didn't have to raise her hand. Hermione then asked her to explain exactly what she meant about clearing their minds.

Showing good teaching technique, Mrs. Longbottom turned to Harry to have him answer the question. "Harry, you've had some lessons already. Why don't you tell us what that means?"

Harry was embarrassed, but forced himself to answer. "I don't exactly know. All Snape … I mean Professor Snape ever did was tell me to clear my mind and then he immediately attacked me."

There was a gasp from Mrs. Longbottom. "He never explained how to do it? That's the first thing you have to learn! What kind of teacher is that?"

"Actually," Neville spoke up, "that's pretty much the way he teaches every class. He never told us _how_ to do anything, just told us to do it and then made fun of us whenever we did anything wrong."

Mrs. Longbottom was angry now, but her voice was calm and cold. "That man must be the worst teacher in the history of Hogwarts! Harry, you were correct the first time. He doesn't deserve to be called Professor."

She then took the time to explain mind clearing techniques to them, which Harry and Hermione both later agreed sounded somewhat like counting sheep to try to get to sleep. After this, she performed Legilimens on each of them.

Harry was the only one who knew how different this was than what Snape had done to him. When she invaded his mind, it was like a calm presence curiously wandering around looking for something. He realized that this would be more difficult to detect than the all out invasion he got from Snape. She was actually a better Legilimens than Snape was.

She looked at him for a moment when she finished before saying, "Harry, you're trying to carry too much inside you. You have the weight of the world on your shoulders, but that doesn't mean you can't let others help you carry it." When she finished Hermione she had a surprised look on her face. "How do you manage to keep so many thoughts going at the same time? I haven't seen a mind like yours since …" she paused and looked over at Harry, "well never mind. It will be a delight teaching you." She looked back and forth between Harry and Hermione. "Are you two …"

"Friends," Hermione immediately responded, as though she knew exactly what was about to be asked, "very good friends."

"_Very_ close friends I imagine," said Mrs. Longbottom. "The bond between the two of you is obvious. You are quite fortunate. That kind of closeness is a treasure."

She finished by giving them a book to read, much to Hermione's delight. She told them to work on it every day, and she would see them twice a week to check how they were doing and give them practice. She decided that Neville could study with Ron while Harry and Hermione would obviously be studying together. Harry noticed that Neville perked up at the realization that he would be going to the Burrow to visit on a regular basis. He hadn't realized that Neville and Ron were that close.

Before they knew it, it was time to return home. Harry and Hermione were much more alert and ready to share their evening with the Grangers than the previous night. Recalling how exhausted he had been after his lessons with Snape, Harry just shook his head at how different it was to have a good teacher than a poor one. The Grangers succeeded this time in showing him how to play pinochle and they had another enjoyable evening together.

---------------

A/N I snuck one in for the Harmonians this week. Don't give up the ship.


	8. The Game Changes

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Special thanks to Old Crow this week. He wrote the first draft of the battle scene for me.

---------------

**Chapter 8, The Game Changes**

Wednesday, June 25

Harry and Hermione had gotten into a routine, with swimming laps and running first thing in the morning, then training with either Tonks or Remus for the rest of the morning. The afternoons were taken up with studying, and in the evenings they ran again and lifted weights, then practiced Occlumency before bed. Even though they supposedly weren't going back to school, there was still homework to do as Remus had them writing reports on what they had learned. It really was a more effective teaching method, Harry had to admit, even though he hated the writing part.

Hermione always finished the afternoon work well before Harry, and usually headed to the pool to get in some sunning in addition to her afternoon laps. Emma often joined her. When Harry finished his work, he would come down for his laps. He had reached an accommodation with the Granger women regarding their swimsuit preferences. As he approached the pool area he would call out a greeting, then pause before coming within view while they covered themselves up. When they called back he would continue out to the pool and get in to start swimming. The sunbathing women were not in view while he was swimming laps unless he stood up to look, so once he was in the pool they could return to their normal attire. When he finished his laps and wanted to catch some sun himself, or visit for a while, they would either cover up or lay on their stomachs.

This afternoon he proceeded as usual, and as he got to the pool he noticed that Emma had covered up, but Hermione had merely rolled over onto her stomach. With a double take he realized that today she was wearing her thong bottom.

"Hermione!" he gasped out. The women burst into laughter. Hermione slowly rolled away from him and sat up with her back to him, then stood and pulled a wrap around her waist and turned her head over her shoulder and smiled at him. After he regained his breathing he tried to glare at her but failed miserably, which only caused her smile to turn into giggles. Giving up, he jumped into the pool and started swimming.

Meanwhile the following thoughts had been going through Harry's brain.

'_Merlin, she looks good in that!'_

'_You're not supposed to think about your sister like that.'_

'_I know, but she sure does have a nice bum.'_

'_Stop that!'_

'_Can you imagine Ginny wearing that?'_

'_Yes, I can!'_

At t this point a funny feeling came into Harry's stomach, and a physical reaction started stirring a little farther down. Hermione was smiling at him and he tried to glare at her.

'_I need to get into the water, now!'_

Hermione was having a great time teasing Harry. One of the wonderful effects of them understanding their relationship was that she could tease him without him taking it as flirting or a come on. She was the older sister tormenting her younger brother. Hermione actually had quite a mischievous sense of humor (it was not a coincidence that her patronus was an otter) which had been suppressed for too long by the serious bookworm persona she had adopted as her friendships disappeared. Now that she had a close friend who she could talk to about anything she finally felt free to be herself around him. Ironically, despite the danger they were in this summer, she was enjoying herself more than she ever had in her life.

Harry had started to develop a fun-loving side himself. Any tendency toward mirth on his part had been totally stifled by the Dursleys, so being with a family who loved to laugh was a life-changing experience for him. As the son of a Marauder, it should have been no surprise that he would have inherited a similar nature, and he had begun to come back with pranks of his own on Hermione. He was also delighted to learn that she had such a fun side to her. He was enjoying being with her more than he had ever thought possible. He smiled to himself as he recalled an assessment he had made of her years ago: _"There was a lot less fun, and a lot more studying in the library, when Hermione was your best friend."_ That was certainly no longer the case.

Meanwhile, Hermione decided that she wasn't done teasing for today. When he was down at the other end of the pool, she slipped into the pool and started swimming laps of her own. She had put her top back on, but he was about to get an up close look at her thong bottom. It didn't take him long to notice that she was in the pool with him or what she was wearing. He stopped at one end as she approached, trying to keep his eyes focused on her head and shoulders. Suddenly, just as she approached his end, she bent her body at a right angle with her head straight down, which brought her bottom and legs right up to him. He was left with nothing else to look at. Her legs eventually followed her under the water as her upper body twisted in the other direction. Finally, her legs pushed off the side and she was headed back to the other end of the pool, leaving Harry standing open-mouthed. The next time she came down to his end he had recovered, and was deliberately looking in the other direction. She completed the tease by stopping and asking him if he thought he had his heart rate high enough, or if she should take her top back off and do the backstroke for a while. She couldn't stop laughing for the next several minutes from the look on his face. When he had finally finished his laps, dried off, and gone inside she returned to the lounge chair by Emma where they both collapsed with tears of laughter.

Emma was so happy with the change in her daughter. She had not seen her like this for almost ten years. Hermione had a developed a delightfully cunning sense of humor when she was little, very much like Emma herself. She had gradually lost it when other children at school started making fun of her and tormenting her for being different. She had withdrawn into herself and become the serious know-it-all who scolded others for not behaving when they were joking around. It was hard to keep a sense of humor when you were the butt of all the jokes. Now, having a friend who completely accepted her and liked her the way she was had allowed her playful side to emerge again. Emma fondly recalled teasing her own brother in almost the same way. In her case it was when she discovered that her brother was embarrassed at seeing her in her bra. Of course, that meant that Emma managed to "accidentally" walk in on him several times thereafter while wearing only bra and knickers. As she reminisced, she blushed when she remembered how that had ended. He really had accidentally walked in on her once while she was changing, and she had turned to find herself looking right at him while wearing nothing but her knickers. The look of sheer panic on his face had dwarfed the embarrassment she was also feeling. That particular variety of tease stopped after that incident, as she couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye for several days afterward.

Her thoughts returned to the dark-haired young man who had so impacted their lives this summer. In a few days she and Dan would be leaving, and Harry and Hermione would continue their dangerous task. Would there still be moments of mirth for the two friends who had discovered how to make each other laugh so much the last two weeks? She hoped so; they would certainly need it. She had nothing but admiration for Harry. He was the kind of boy every mother wished her daughter would bring home, but daughters often had other ideas. Hermione had explained that she and Harry had no romantic feelings for each other (at least not yet, Emma thought hopefully) and were best friends. Actually, more than best friends – Hermione considered him the brother she had never had and apparently Harry also thought of her as a sister. Emma could certainly understand that since Harry had come to be like the son she and Dan had never had.

-----

Thursday, June 26

Harry and Hermione had just finished their morning run, and Harry was in the middle of putting on his dragonhide armor. Although eventually the dragonhide would conform to their bodies and feel like a second skin, it had a break-in period where it was scratchy. They had decided to wear it for a half hour each day, and Hermione liked to wear it over her spandex exercise clothes instead of over her regular underwear or her bare skin. It didn't matter that much to Harry, but in this case there was no reason not to go along with what Hermione wanted. _And avoid an argument, the result of which would be that we would do what Hermione wanted anyway,_ he thought, smiling to himself.

Suddenly he heard his name being called as though being shouted in the distance. "Harry Potter!" _Strange, that sounded like Ron._ Then it hit him – Ron was calling on the mirror.

"Hermione!" Harry shouted as he rummaged through his stuff to find his mirror. "Ron's calling on the mirror." Finally he found it and responded, "Ron Weasley."

Hermione came into his room, just finishing putting on her vest as Ron's face appeared in the mirror, with a worried expression. Harry could hear explosions in the background as Ron began to speak.

"Harry! I'm here at Fred and George's and we're under attack. I think it's the same Death Eaters that attacked Hogwarts. I'm pretty sure I recognize the big guy. We're OK for now because they had some defensive traps set that are shooting off fireworks, but we'll need help soon and they blocked the floo network somehow."

"Ron, hold on, we're on our way!" Harry shouted as he turned to hurry from the room.

"Wait, Harry!" The shout came from both Hermione and the mirror. Harry and Hermione froze as they looked at each other, then at the mirror. _Were Ron and Hermione actually agreeing on something?_

"Hang on a second, Ron." Harry turned to Hermione, giving her a chance to say her piece.

Hermione shouted loudly enough for Ron to hear. "Harry, we're not ready for this, we have to get help." She thought quickly. "Let me at least call Remus."

Harry nodded then turned back to the mirror. "Did you get that, Ron? We're going to try to get Remus and Tonks, then we're coming. What else do you have?"

"Harry, listen. We have a few minutes to plan. I've been reading some strategy books and you should do a flanking attack. Whoever you have coming, split up and half of you apparate to Ollivander's old shop on one side of us and half to the second hand book shop on the other side. Do you know where that is?" Harry glanced at Hermione and she nodded. She had just got Remus on the cell phone and started relaying the plan to him. Ron continued, "Wear your dragonhide armor and your concealment cloaks. Move as close as you can while the fireworks are going off, and attack as soon as the last one explodes. That'll be the …" he paused while he checked with the twins, "the red Catherine wheel."

Harry was getting a headache listening to Ron rattle off the details of the plan and Hermione repeating them a few seconds later to Remus. How on earth was she able to do that? Finally Hermione nodded to him that she was finished and leaned over to the mirror and said, "We've got it, Ron. How much time do we have?"

There was a slight pause and Ron came back. "Three minutes. As soon as we hear you firing spells we'll open up from here. With any luck they'll never know what hit 'em."

"OK, keep the mirror open so we can keep in touch," Harry said, and he heard Hermione say the same thing to Remus regarding the cell phone. Without another word he grabbed his concealment cloak and they dashed to Hermione's room so she could get hers. As she threw it on Harry said, "You know where it is, so you apparate both of us." Hermione threw her arm around Harry's waist and suddenly there was a pop and they disappeared from the room.

They apparated to the alley behind the Leaky Cauldron. Hermione checked once to get her bearings, then grabbed him and they popped away again. They arrived in front of the used bookstore to a scene of absolute chaos. Fireworks were going off all over the place down the street in front of the twins' shop. Harry noticed looking around that the street was deserted. None of the stores had opened yet, and the few pedestrians about had vanished as soon as the shooting started. _This is how the Death Eaters get away with this,_ he thought grimly. _Everybody runs away and no one fights back. They show up, blow up a building, grab the owner and are out of here long before the Aurors show up. Fred and George apparently had other thoughts, and have planned a trap._ His attention was brought back abruptly as he felt a cold sensation trickling down his body. Hermione had just cast a disillusionment charm on herself and on him.

Fred and George had been holding their own throwing out anti-apparation bombs designed to keep the attackers from getting away. There were a half dozen Death Eaters in front of the shop ducking from the fireworks. Unfortunately, what no one knew was that a few had slipped around the back.

George yelled to Lee, "Keep an eye on the back door." He opened the front door, while Fred threw out a Confundus stick. As Fred threw, George fired a stunner at a particularly large Death Eater who had hadn't managed do completely hide himself, but it didn't knock him out.

-----

Twenty seconds after finishing talking to Hermione, Remus had his shoes on and he and Tonks had apparated to the boarded up entrance to Olivander's. The noise of the fireworks was diminishing, and they also noticed the absence of bystanders.

They carefully made their way up the street on the opposite side as Harry and Hermione were. Suddenly Hermione's voice came over the cell phone, telling him that she and Harry were disillusioned and working their way into position. Remus worried about that, fearing that they could get hit by friendly fire. He instructed her to remove the disillusionment charm as soon as the shooting started, and trust in their shields and cover.

Harry and Hermione were creeping forward when they stumbled over two bodies. Apparently not everyone had reached safety. Hermione stifled a gasp as Harry grabbed at her arm but missed, grabbing something else instead. He hissed, "Sorry. You take the one closest to us. I'll get the guy next to him on our left." The final Catherine wheel went off and there was an eerie silence. "Now."

"Stupify, Stupefy." One Death Eater went down, while the other had dodged Hermione's spell. Suddenly Harry and Hermione seemed like much more interesting targets than the joke shop, and several spells came shooting their way as they ducked back into a doorway. They had gotten the attention of the other Death Eaters, who were just now shaking off the effects of the Confundus stick. Suddenly two flashes of red light came flying into the rear of the group of Death Eaters from Remus and Tonks, taking out two more. Ron's strategy was working! The Death Eaters were caught in a crossfire.

The enormous blonde Death Eater that they recognized from the attack on Hogwarts went into a rage again and starting shooting off killing spells, green jets of light flying all around. With a crash the front window of the twin's shop blew inward, and another jet of green light destroyed their sign. Stunning spells had been coming out of the shop but seemed to be having little effect on him. Harry decided to try a stronger spell.

"Conjurus". Hermione's wand flicked and suddenly, they were behind a slab of granite. Harry glanced his appreciation at her. She not only knew her spells, she was able to quickly analyze the situation and use the most appropriate one. Granite would block a killing curse. Just as Harry was about to cast a return spell, a green flash of light blasted the granite slab apart, shredding their robes with sharp slivers of the stone. Hermione quickly conjured another one.

"Reducto. Protego." Things were getting confusing now. Just as Harry was firing his spell, Hermione had noticed a slashing hex coming toward them and blocked it with the specific shield charm. Hermione gasped. It was obvious that the Death Eaters wore no armor. Harry's spell had blown a gaping hole in the chest of one. Tonks had taken out another one. The big blonde was the only one left now, his back temporarily to them as he shot killing curses at Remus and Tonks, who evaded them.

"Reducto." The Death Eater's arm blew off at the shoulder, and he went down cursing, turning to look at them with death in his eyes. A moment later he was still.

Suddenly everything was quiet for a brief instant, but the silence was broken by the sound of Hermione retching. Not knowing what else to do Harry pulled her hair back from her face and held it with one hand, rubbing her back with the other. Remus and Tonks were moving forward, checking the stunned and dead bodies of the Death Eaters. Just then an explosion came from the twins' shop.

-----

Fred and George were firing out the front door while Ron had just finished talking to Harry and was now trying again to get the floo to work. Lee Jordan continued to cover the back door.

CRASH!

Everyone ducked as the front window blew inward, spraying glass all over. The dragonhide armor absorbed most of it, but George had a serious cut on his face and Fred's arm was bleeding.

Just as they were checking themselves over it grew quiet outside. Fred motioned Ron to check on Lee as they peered out the door, only to see Death Eaters strewn across the street.

BOOM!

That had come from the back! The twins raced toward the back room, only to be knocked to the side as Ron came crashing through the door, blown backward by a bludgeoning curse. Fred shared a look with George, then tossed an egg shaped device through the door. Instantly the back room was in total darkness and the twins slipped unseen through the door. Feeling their way along the wall, they could hear at least two Death Eaters cursing the darkness. George reached into his robes and tossed another egg on the floor. Immediately the room was bright again. Lee was lying on the floor in a pool of blood. The werewolf Fenrir Greyback was crouching over him licking his lips, and two more Death Eaters were blinking their eyes in surprise.

"Stupefy. Stupefy." The two Death Eaters went down as Greyback snarled and gathered himself to leap at them.

"Impedimenta. Petrificus Totalus." Greyback slowed, then went rigid as first Harry's then Remus's spells hit him, the two appearing in the shattered doorway after having raced in from the street at the sound of the explosion. "Incarcerous" snarled Remus at his fellow werewolf and a set of ropes wrapped tightly around the immobilized Death Eater. Harry turned and ran back into the other room to check on Ron. He arrived to find that Hermione had pulled herself together and was now helping him tenderly to a sitting position.

Ron ignored Hermione and grinned at Harry. "It worked mate! The ambush worked!"

"Never mind that, are you OK?" Harry interrupted, not missing the hurt look on Hermione's face. As Ron nodded, he turned to her. "How about you?" he said in a softer voice, recalling her discomfort in the street.

"I'm OK now. It was just a shock, seeing you blow that man's arm off.

"You blew someone's arm off! That is so cool." Ron said excitedly. Harry helped Hermione to her feet shaking his head. Each of them were about to retort when multiple pops were heard from the street. Looking out the shattered window, they saw a group of Aurors move up to talk to Tonks, then look at the ruined storefront.

"We better get out of here," Hermoine observed. "The press will have a field day if they find out you were involved in this.

Just then Fred stuck his head through the door. "If any Mediwitches show up, send them back here right away." We have a problem. Is the floo back up yet?"

Harry tossed some floo powder into the fire, but nothing happened. Fred looked out into the street and noted, "Looks like the anti-apparation charm has worn off. You two better get going."

Hermione was shaking a little and Harry noticed that she was still a little pale so he held on to her tightly. "Lets go back to your back garden." Pop, they were gone.

-----

A series of pops announced the arrival of the Mediwitches. Ron called a couple in as Fred was carrying George into the front room. He was now unconscious and bleeding steadily from the cut on his face. As one Mediwitch stopped by George Fred motioned the other to the back room.

"Could you help my brother, Ma'am?" asked Fred who seemed distracted, glancing a few times toward the back door. They set George down and the Mediwitch vanished his shirt and trousers, exposing the dragonhide armor, and after a quick glance began stopping the blood flow from his face.

A few minutes later, she had closed the cut and examined George for any other injuries. She pointed her wand at the side of George's head and said, "Ennervate."

A few seconds later George opened his eyes, looked at the young woman leaning over him, smiled and said, "Thanks. Could I interest you in dinner?" Fred gave a chuckle and shook his head.

The back room was no laughing matter, Ron quickly realized. The other Mediwitch cast several quick spells on Lee and looked up at Remus and shook her head. Pulling out a portkey she grabbed his arm and they vanished.

Realization slowly dawned on Ron as he looked at the pool of Lee's blood slowly seeping into the floor. This suddenly wasn't a game anymore.

-----

Appearing back at the Grangers, Harry helped a still shaken Hermione to her room and they assisted each other in removing the remains of their robes. The dragonhide armor appeared almost unscathed, clearly having done its job. Without a word being exchanged, they both knew that there would be no training session today. As Hermone pulled off her dragonhide vest Harry realized with a start that she was still wearing her exercise clothing. Their morning run seemed so long ago. Although it had been less than half an hour, their lives had taken another turn. Harry had killed two men and Hermione had watched him do it without regret. Harry returned to his room and a few minutes later they were both dressed in regular clothing and went downstairs to try to study.

-----

"Hermione, do you want to talk about it?" Harry had been looking at the same page for ten minutes, and noticed that Hermione had not turned a page in just as long.

"I think I'll be OK, Harry. I'm just sorting it all out in my mind. At first I was shocked that you used that spell, but eventually I realized that I was being foolish. That Death Eater wasn't fooling around with those killing curses, and it would have been stupid to keep dodging or blocking them without trying to take him out. By stopping those killers today, how many more lives have we saved in the future?" Harry had crossed over to the sofa she was sitting on while she was talking, and she now reached out to take his hand and looked him in the eye. She knew that the deaths would bother him, and even more that he was worried at her reaction. "You did the right thing, Harry. I don't think any less of you."

When she saw the relief on his face she knew she had read the situation correctly, and continued, "I'm just not sure that I can do it. I have no trouble stunning them, but I couldn't make myself try to kill them. That's why I mostly did blocking and shielding after it got serious."

Now it was his turn to reassure her about her unspoken concern. He could see that she was worried that she had let him down. "Hermione, you were fantastic out there. The way you always knew exactly what shield or block to use was amazing. That was much better than if the two of us just stood there blasting away." Now he took _her_ hands and looked into _her_ eyes. "We make a great team." She smiled her appreciation and turned and picked up her book again. He retrieved his and joined her on the couch. She leaned her head against his shoulder and they went back to their studying, both feeling much better this time.

-----

At dinner that evening, the teens related an edited version of the battle to the two dentists. While Harry was enthusiastically describing Ron's strategy and how it had worked to perfection, Hermione carefully watched her parents' reactions. She couldn't fail to note that while there was admiration present for the bravery they had shown, as well as the thoughtful planning, a growing unease was passing between the two of them as they realized the danger that their daughter had been exposed to that morning. While the light side forces had mostly focused on stunning and capturing the attackers, the Death Eaters had no compunctions about killing any of them. While intellectually, they had always known that this was true, and in fact had seen the result of the fight at the Ministry last June in the scar that had been visible across their daughter's chest for a week, hearing about it happening that very day brought the reality of it all crashing down on them. This kind of attack was exactly what they were fleeing from, and it was exactly what their daughter was training for every day and fully expected to participate in again.

Harry, being more sensitive to the moods and feelings of those around him than he used to be, picked up on this as well, but wasn't sure what to do about it. It was Hermione who finally addressed the gathering tension. "Mum, Dad, I know how much this worries you. But this is why we're doing what we are. For now, these attacks are against businesses, but they could just as well be against homes. It wouldn't surprise me if they start going after students' homes next. We'll do what we can to keep this house safe, and I've been studying lots of charms we can put on it, but it will be much better if they attack an empty house if they come here. That's why you're leaving and why we're also going to a place where they can't find us." Knowing that she had only addressed part of her parents' concern, she continued. "And as for our being involved in the attack, if more people fight back, maybe they'll be more reluctant to go after someone else in the future. But we're training hard so that when they do come after us, we'll be ready for them. Between the armor Harry bought us, and the tactics Ron came up with today, and the defensive training we've been doing, we were in much less danger today than we have been in some of our other adventures." Hermione noticed Harry wince at that, and her parents did as well. "We're obviously not going to stop having 'adventures' but we are taking every precaution we can." Reaching over and taking Harry's hand, she concluded, "We fully intend to survive this."

Emma reached over to squeeze Hermione's other hand, then reached across to squeeze Harry's as well. "We know, sweetheart. We understand what you have to do and have seen how hard you're working. But it's always hard for parents to admit that their child is an adult and is going out to face the world without them. It's even harder when that world is trying to kill them." Harry noticed that Dan was still deep in thought, and remained so throughout the meal.

After dinner, Dan seemed to come to some sort of conclusion, and asked Harry and Hermione to accompany him to the basement. As they followed him down the stairs, Hermione gave Harry a shrug to show that she had no idea either what this was about. As they passed the weight equipment that had just been delivered two days ago, he led them to a locked door at one end of the room. Thinking about the floor plan, Harry realized that the room that this door led to must be under the garage. Glancing again at Hermione, he realized that she was still as much in the dark as he was. In fact, she had never been through this door.

Dan had been struggling with this decision for several days, and the story he had heard this evening finally made up his mind for him. He had always been a law-abiding citizen, but he was about to commit a felony. With one last sigh, he unlocked the door.

Dan ushered a dumbstruck pair of teens into a gun range. It was a long narrow room with targets at the far end. There was heavy sound insulation on all of the walls. He went over to a locked cabinet and opened it to pull out a handgun and some ammunition. Finally he turned to them to explain.

"What I'm about to do is extremely illegal. Hermione, you know that I was in the service for a few years after dental school. But I never told you about this part. Even though I was in the medical branch, we all had to go through basic training. I became an expert marksman with the pistol. Because of this, and because of my reserve status, I have a permit to keep this handgun. This country doesn't give out many of those." He handed the gun to Harry, but hadn't loaded it yet. "This is a .45 caliber automatic, the American military's preferred handgun for decades. Some of the other NATO countries used them as well. Consider this my last contribution to trying to keep you alive. I doubt that any other wizards would use one of these, so it may give you an advantage."

After letting Harry hold the gun for a while, Dan took it back and showed him how to load it. "I'm giving you this with several conditions. First, you come down here regularly and practice with it, and don't even think about using it until you are accurate. Second, and this is what they drill into police officers all over the world, you don't shoot someone unless you intend to kill them. I know that you were only trying to stun those criminals this morning, but there may well come a time in a fight where you have to kill someone, and you can't hesitate to do it." Harry caught Hermione's eye with a quick glance, as they realized that Dan was unknowingly supporting his actions that morning. "Third, you can't let anyone know you have this. If a muggle police officer even saw you carrying this, you'd be arrested immediately."

Harry nodded, swallowing hard. He had never seen the affable dentist this serious, and realized how hard all of this was for him. He looked over at Hermione and saw the worry in her eyes, but she fought to control it. Suddenly she had an idea. "Harry, we could use one of those concealment charms from the twins on it. You could carry it around anywhere and no one would ever be able to see it." She hurried from the room to go upstairs and get some. When she returned Dan was showing Harry the proper grip. He handed her some ear protectors and she watched Harry take his first shots at the target.

After going through two clips, he carefully put down the gun and turned to Hermione. "Now you."

"I don't think so," she said, shaking her head nervously.

"Hermione, this is something we'll likely only use in an emergency. An emergency that might include me being knocked out. If that happens I want you to be able to protect yourself by any means necessary."

Dan spoke up. "Sweetheart, I heard what you said and what you didn't say at dinner. You're reluctant to kill someone. But if you're going to put yourself in these kinds of situations, you have to be willing to use whatever force is necessary. It may be the only thing that keeps you alive. It hurts me terribly to say this; I never intended for you to get involved in anything like this but …"

"But I am and I'm going to continue to be," she agreed reluctantly, and she picked up the revolver and took a few shots. She quickly realized that she would need a lot of practice at this. Deciding they were finished for the night, Dan showed Harry how the holster would fit around his back and chest if he wanted to conceal the weapon. Hermione put a charm on both the gun and the holster and Dan was amazed to see them disappear. It did make him feel a little better about Harry not being caught with the gun. He fervently hoped they would never need to use it.

---------------


	9. Moving On

**Disclaimer**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

---------------

**Chapter 9 Moving On**

Friday, June 27

The day before Dan and Emma left for Canada, Harry and Hermione moved into the new house on Turnbull Court. A moving van came and picked up the household items and furniture that had been accumulating in the Granger garage, and Emma had made arrangements for some other pieces to be delivered directly to the house. As they stood at the house watching the truck unload, Emma snickered as Hermione turned pink when the large double bed was moved into the master bedroom. Remembering that they were supposed to be newlyweds, Harry put his arm around Hermione for a while and throughout the day they spent time holding hands or touching, trying to keep up their cover in front of the neighbors. Surprisingly, it didn't feel all that awkward for either of them. They had become quite comfortable with each other during the past two weeks.

They introduced themselves to the neighbors on either side, and after everything was moved in treated Dan and Emma to dinner at a local pub. They waved goodbye to the Grangers as they drove away, then went into the house. A half hour later, twenty minutes of which consisted of Harry levitating furniture about the living room and study while Hermione repeatedly changed her mind, things were pretty much to their liking. Turning out the lights to make it look like they had retired early, they apparated back to the Granger house so that Hermione could be with her parents on their last night in the country.

It was an emotional night. Although they half-heartedly tried to play cards, all any of the Grangers could think about was that Hermione and her parents would not see each other for a long time. Finally, Harry suggested that they sing some songs together, since he had seen how much they enjoyed doing that. Dan had burned a CD of their favorite songs, and they sat and listened and sang along for an hour, frequently making some comment or other about some memories associated with a particular song. The CD ended with the song they had sung at the end of the church service the previous Sunday, and once again the Granger family split into soprano, alto, and bass parts. Harry just listened, mostly to the blended melodies of their voices, but occasionally to the lyrics. The song ended with a line that he fervently hoped would be true, _'Go my children, I will keep you and give you peace.'_

That was all that Hermione could take, and she and Emma left the room holding onto each other, weeping softly. Harry and Dan remained in the room a while longer, while each tried to find the right words to say. Dan spoke first. "Harry, I can't think of anything to say that doesn't sound trite or obvious. I'd like to tell you to be careful, but I know you'll be as careful as you possibly can. I'd like to tell you to stay safe, but I know you're going to have to do some dangerous things. I'd like to tell you to take care of my daughter, but I know you'll protect her with your life. What I will tell you is that you are the finest young man I've ever had the privilege to meet, that I know positively that you are the most special person in my daughter's life, and that there's no one else that I feel better about saying that about. God be with you Harry." He reached out his hand, but as Harry held out his to shake it, both men had other thoughts and embraced each other.

"Sir, there's something I want to give you, and now seems like as good a time as any." Harry handed Dan an envelope. "Last week, I withdrew some money from my vault and I'd like you to use it for your trip." As Dan began to protest Harry put up his hand and continued, "Sirius said to use my inheritance to keep those close to me safe, and that's exactly what I'm doing with it. This represents less than 1 percent of what he left me, so I'll hardly miss it, and it's the least I can do to repay you for all you've done for me the last two weeks." Reluctantly, Dan took the envelope. Inside were a series of deposit slips. At Dan's questioning look, Harry explained. "Hermione said that there's a problem taking large amounts of cash outside the country, and that you'd be questioned at customs. So she's been making deposits to your account every day this week. There's a total of 50,000 pounds from us in your account now. Dan was speechless, so Harry just embraced him again, and the two turned and went upstairs to bed.

-----

Saturday, June 28

The Granger family looked nothing like a family excited to be leaving on vacation the next day. Since they had to maintain the illusion that Hermione was going with them, she hugged her parents one last time and said goodbye before they left the house. Harry stayed hidden as they walked out to the airport limo, then he apparated to the house on Turnbull Court to wait for Hermione. Since it was an international flight, they arrived several hours before the flight to go through security. One advantage of Hermione not going with them was that they could check six pieces of luggage for the two of them. Since the air crew only counted passengers getting on the plane but not getting off, Hermione would be able to make it appear that she was also going abroad for the summer. After they got settled into their seats and the flight attendant finished her count, Hermione turned teary-eyed to Emma and Dan, squeezed their hands one last time and made her way to back to the lavatory. Closing the door but not locking it, she quickly put on Harry's invisibility cloak and apparated a short distance to a grassy field beside the runway. She stood there silently, tears streaming down her face, watching the plane take her parents out of her life for an unforeseeable amount of time. Finally, she looked around once and with only a small pop to disturb the insects in the field she was gone.

Harry was ready for her when she appeared in their living room. Without a moment's hesitation he gave her a hug, dried her tears, and led her to the dining table where he had prepared a nice dinner. While she didn't say anything, the smile she gave him and the gratitude in her eyes let him know how much she appreciated his thoughtfulness and support. During dinner she finally began to relax, and Harry encouraged her to talk it out. She ended up telling him stories about her life growing up, remembering happier times with her parents, smiling as she told of her parents' pride when she won her first spelling bee at six, their supportive outrage at the boy who ruined her favorite book when she was eight, and how they took her out for ice cream each time she brought home a perfect report card. She reminisced about trips to the museums of Europe and the other wonderful holidays they had together as Harry just tried to imagine how it might be to have a family like that. Eventually, without realizing it, dinner had ended and they were on the couch together, Harry's arm around her and her head on his shoulder as she continued her tales with her eyes sparkling in the light of the fire Harry had prepared in their fireplace. The evening finally came to an end as Hermione, all talked out and feeling much better, fell asleep on the couch cuddled up to Harry, who stayed awake staring into the fire like he had so often in the Gryffindor common room, thinking about what was to come.

-----

Tuesday, July 1

Early in the morning a well dressed young woman with long wavy blonde hair wearing a silk blouse with an expensive tailored suit jacket and skirt was walking down Privet Drive, going up to each of the houses. She was going door to door with a petition advocating better treatment of house pets. When she got to number four she apparently got a positive response because she went inside for a half an hour. After coming out she continued down the street and was never seen again. Some time later the Dursleys emerged from the house, got into their car, and drove away, not returning until evening. If any neighbor had remembered, this was the day that they retrieved their nephew from the train station when he returned each year from his boarding school. The unusual thing about this trip was that they returned somewhat irritated and empty handed. As it turned out, the only witness to this series of events was Mrs. Figg's cat.

While they were away, a soft pop in the living room signaled the arrival of Harry. With only a few changes of clothing, it didn't take him long to settle into his room and he returned to the kitchen to await the return of his relatives.

As he waited, he thought about why he was doing this. It was something Dumbledore had wanted him to do, to renew the protection afforded him by being with his blood relatives, but that would be gone in a month anyway. Dumbledore had explained to him last year that there was also protection for the Dursleys and that it would last even after he left. In some of his more resentful moods he wasn't sure he cared what happened to the Dursleys after the way they had treated him, but he knew he would feel guilty if they were attacked because of him. He didn't really understand the whole blood protection thing anyway.

He sighed. In the story of his life, there were a lot of things that didn't make sense. Did his father have any relatives? Why had he never wondered about that? Sirius had told him that all the pureblooded families were related somehow and his father was a pureblood. Sirius had even said that Arthur Weasley was a cousin of his. What if he was related to a family like the Weasleys?

Harry's mind drifted to imagining what it would be like to have grown up with the Weasleys. Ron and Ginny would have been his brother and sister. Well, Ron was pretty much like a brother to him now, but Ginny … He smiled to himself as he decided that at least Ginny would have been able to talk to him without freaking out whenever he was around like she did when she was younger. But then Molly probably wouldn't have told her the story of the Boy Who Lived and she wouldn't have had that crush in the first place. He frowned as he followed this thought to its logical conclusion. He would probably see her as a sister even now and would never have considered dating her. He forced his thoughts away from that topic. Well, at least his and Ron's relationship to Hermione would probably not be too much different. They were already good buddies when they got to know her. These thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he heard the Dursleys arrive home.

To his surprise, they were remarkably subdued in their reaction to him. Possibly because they knew that he would only be there for less than two weeks, they largely ignored him. After a quiet, uncomfortable dinner, he said goodnight and returned to his bedroom. Once there, he disappeared again and reappeared in the living room at Turnbull Court.

"Hermoine, how did your visit go this morning with my aunt and uncle?"

"Just fine, Harry," she answered with a grin on her face. "We had an enjoyable discussion."

Harry raised his eyebrows at this. He wasn't sure that he had _ever_ had an enjoyable discussion with the Dursleys. Well, maybe last year when Dumbledore had visited. "Enjoyable?" he queried.

"Well, I enjoyed it at least." Hermione's grin was getting wider.

"Hermione, what did you do to them?"

"I just explained to them that you wouldn't be at the train station, but that they needed to go anyway to keep up appearances, and that when you didn't show up they should come back and you would already be there." Her eyes were dancing now.

"And did you say anything else?"

"Mmm, maybe," she said teasingly.

"And did you do anything else?"

"Mmm, maybe," came the same answer. She was looking way too happy about this.

"Hermione, what exactly did you do?"

"You know how you told me that one summer that you blew up Dudley's Aunt Marge and that she floated away like a big balloon?"

"You didn't?"

"I thought your uncle was getting a bit too full of himself, sputtering the way he does, and it looked to me like he'd make an excellent balloon."

"What else?" Harry said, shaking his head, and trying not to laugh.

"Well, I thought your cousin Dudley should know what your cupboard felt like. You know, he didn't fit very well. I had to change his shape a little to make him fit."

"Hermione!"

"And your aunt. You know how you've described her has having sort of a horsey face?"

"You didn't!"

"After awhile they were much more willing to listen to what I had to say. They can be quite reasonable people if you know how to approach them the right way."

Neither of them could hold it in anymore and they burst into laughter, falling onto the sofa trying to contain themselves.

Eventually a thought came to Harry, and he sat up quickly. "Hermione, am I going to get an owl from the Improper Use of Magic Office?"

"Nope. They have provisions for when adult wizards visit an underage wizard. You just have to notify the office and they ignore any spells they detect during that time. I had Tonks fill out the paperwork saying she would be at your house on ministry business this morning."

Harry frowned, thinking. Something had been lurking in the back of his mind ever since he and Hermione had talked about underage magic last week. Hermione noticed his changed expression and asked, "What is it?"

"Hermione, how does the Improper Use of Magic Office work?"

"Well, they must have some magical means of detecting spells when and where they are cast. I'm not sure if they just detect that a spell was cast or if they can identify the spell. Why?"

"They can identify the specific spell. My owl message before second year specifically mentioned a hovering charm, and the one I got two years ago specifically mentioned the patronus charm. But apparently they can't tell who cast the spell, since Dobby was the one who cast the hovering charm and I was the one who got blamed."

"What are you thinking?"

"I was wondering if there was a way to detect Death Eaters, so they could be tracked down. But since they can't tell who cast the spell…"

"Harry!" shouted Hermione, realization hitting her suddenly. "If they can identify specific spells, they ought to be able to identify unforgivables!"

That, Harry recognized, was what had been lurking in his mind. If they could detect spells that only Death Eaters would use, they could track Death Eaters. "They can tell where they were cast, too. And they're pretty quick about it. Those owls arrived within minutes of when the spells were cast."

"So that worthless office could be tracking criminals instead of wasting its time harassing underage muggleborns." Hermione was furious now, the earlier irritation she had felt when they realized that muggleborns were the main target of the underage magic enforcement returning tenfold. "This wizarding society can be so blind sometimes!"

Meanwhile Harry was trying to decide what they could do with this information. "Do you remember at the Quidditch World Cup when the dark mark appeared? Suddenly we were surrounded by about a dozen ministry wizards firing stunners because they figured out where the mark had been conjured from."

"So you're thinking that some sort of enforcement group could be formed from the Aurors that would apparate immediately to a place where an unforgivable was detected?"

"Yeah, sort of a quick response team. I'm not sure I trust the Ministry to organize something like this and keep it secret, though. There are still too many Voldemort supporters there. We might have to go outside the Ministry to do this."

"But we need the Ministry's spell detection capability," Hermione pointed out.

"Yeah, that's a problem," Harry conceded. "We'll have to think about this some more."

With that off of their minds, Harry suggested that they pop some popcorn and watch a movie. Hermione had checked out a batch of movies from the library in town and they watched _The English Patient_, then Harry apparated back to Privet Drive for the night.

-----

Saturday, July 5

Harry and Hermione waited in the living area in the house on Turnbull Court for Remus, Tonks, and Ron to arrive. They were looking like themselves today, having decided that this was the day that the five of them would go to Grimmauld Place to establish Harry's ownership and search for the locket. Right on time, the trio materialized in front of them with three quick pops. Tonks stumbled forward only to be caught in a strong grip by Remus who grinned at her, and then they all turned to Ron who was just removing his hands from his eyebrows.

"Everything in the right place, Ron?" teased Harry, sharing a smirk with Hermione while Ron glared at them. While the two of them had been apparating regularly for two weeks now, it was still a new experience for their friend.

"Moody's been staking the mansion out for the last several days, and says it looks clear," said Remus as he got out a portkey. The rest nodded, relieved. If the paranoid ex-Auror thought it was clear, it was almost certainly safe. Just to be sure they were taking a two-way portkey. If anything was amiss they would be brought back here immediately. Remus activated it and after the typical stomach pulling portkey experience, they found themselves standing in front of the battered old house. Quickly rechecking the instructions he had received from the goblins, Harry strode forward and put his hand on the twisted serpent door knocker on the front door and touched the door with his wand and intoned. "I, Harry Potter-Black, take possession of this house."

The door swung open and the five of them hurried inside. If possible, the place looked even dingier than Harry remembered. He recalled that no one had been using it for a year. As they had previously arranged, Remus stepped forward and cast a Fidelius charm, hiding the house from anyone who hadn't been informed of its location by the secret keeper. As he cast the charm, Remus's mind returned to another hidden house, and the unfortunate distrust among best friends that had led to Peter being the secret keeper instead of himself. He felt a stirring in his heart that Harry had trusted him unhesitatingly with this task, whereas James had not. It had been agreed, after much resistance on his part, that he would live here at Grimmauld Place and he would control who would be aware of its location. After writing out four slips of paper with the words '_The Black family residence may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London'_ and distributing them to the others, they set out to take a look around.

"Cripes, this place is a mess!" announced Ron as they moved through the house. "And it reeks. What's that smell?" Out of habit they moved first downstairs into the kitchen, where they had customarily gathered when the Order had been using the house. It was in even worse shape, with mold growing in places and spoiled food lying about.

Harry found himself becoming angry at how Kreacher had let the place go to ruin. "You'd think Kreacher could have kept the place cleaner than this," he muttered. "Don't start," he said turning to Hermione, forestalling her criticism. "He lived here. He should have at least made it livable for himself if for no one else."

"But he's been at Hogwarts all year." Hermione pointed out.

"That's true," Harry admitted, "but he was here for nearly a month after the Order left. He could have at least cleaned this up.

"Where is he now?" asked Ron looking around. "Did you send him back to Hogwarts after he came here for the mirror?"

"I … I don't remember," said Harry suddenly recalling the incident on the train.

"It doesn't matter. He should come when you call," pointed out Tonks. But the decrepit elf did not respond to Harry's summons.

"You don't suppose he went to the Malfoy's again, do you?" asked Harry nervously.

"No, he shouldn't have been able to, he's bound to this house," she answered.

A few scourgify charms cleaned up the worst of the mess in the kitchen and they moved back up to the ground level. In each room they entered, the ancient gas lamps sputtered to life, casting a spooky glow on everything. Carefully avoiding disturbing the portrait of Mrs. Black in the entryway, they moved on to the other rooms.

"I hardly remember that day when we found the locket," Harry pointed out. "I had other things on my mind at the time." The others all recalled all too clearly that he had been facing charges of underage magic for casting a patronus charm to repel two dementors, and had been cleared only by the last minute appearance of Dumbledore and Mrs. Figg. Fortunately, Hermoine and Ron remembered more.

"It was in that room with the tapestry," Ron offered. "I think that was the first floor drawing room."

"It was in a cabinet with several other cursed objects," added Hermione.

"The drawing room is at the end of this corridor," said Remus, leading the way past one of Harry's least favorite features of the house, the mounted heads of the Black family house elves.

Suddenly Hermione stopped with a gasp. They all quickly turned to her and saw her pointing wordlessly at one of the house elf heads. It was Kreacher.

Ron eventually broke the silence. "Well, I guess he got his wish." The others turned to him, some of them nodding. Kreacher had made it quite plain that he looked forward to joining the other house elves in the horrible display. "No wonder the place looks even worse than it used to. You're going to need another house elf, Harry."

Harry winced, knowing the reaction that would get from Hermione. Did Ron ever think before he said things? He did have a point, though. It would take them forever to clean this place up and make it liveable.

Hermione glared at Ron and started in. "If you think that Harry is going to buy a house elf …" She stopped as Harry grabbed her arms and turned her around to face him. It was a measure of the trust that had developed between them that she refrained from lashing out at him, too.

"What about Dobby?" Harry asked her calmly. "You know he wants to help us out any way he can. Don't you think he might want to come here and fix this place up? I think he might even enjoy it. Can we ask him?"

She struggled to control her irritation, but eventually nodded reluctantly. "Dobby," called out Harry and within seconds the loyal house elf appeared in the hallway with him.

"What can Dobby do for Harry Potter now?" he asked eagerly. Despite her annoyance, Hermione smiled at the enthusiastic little elf, who was bouncing up and down in anticipation. "Oooh," Dobby said, looking around. "You needs Dobby's help bad. Dobby will fix this place up for Harry Potter. Dobby can even get his friends to come and help. Dobby will make this a house fit for a great wizard like Harry Potter."

Before Dobby could get too carried away, Harry calmed him down. Dobby would clean the place up, and would only make modifications that Remus would suggest. Harry assured him that there would be a lot of things he could change about the house, and told Remus that he expected it to lose the dark look and to spend whatever was necessary to fix it up. He also insisted that Dobby accept double the salary he had been getting at Hogwarts, along with a clothing allowance and days off. And he would work a limited number of hours a day. Dobby argued vigorously on this last point, and they ended up agreeing on a number that was quite a bit higher than Hermione would have preferred, but she grudgingly accepted it, just as she had accepted the negotiations with Winky a few weeks previously. The point that sealed the deal for everyone present was Dobby's declaration that he could get rid of the house elf heads, and could even get Mrs. Black's picture off of the wall in the entryway.

As they entered the drawing room the conversation returned to the locket. Ron and Hermione were wracking their brains, trying to remember what had happened to it, while Harry studied the tapestry. Regulas had been killed in 1980, the same year he had been born. The timing fit. That had been when Voldemort was at the height of his power.

To Ron's and Hermione's dismay, they finally recalled that the locket had joined the other cursed items in a large bag that Sirius had been intending to dispose of. Remus and Tonks looked helplessly at each other. They explained to the other three that they didn't think that the items had been sold, and suspected that they might have been magically vanished. Just as the group started to despair of ever seeing the locket again, Ron had a thought. "Maybe Kreacher stole it."

This time Hermione was able to suppress her irritation at the disparaging comment about the old elf. Kreacher _had_ been sneaking around taking some of the items. Then she had another thought. "Ron, Harry, do you remember Christmas that year? I wanted to give Kreacher a present and we found his stash in that cupboard off of the kitchen." They hurried back down to the kitchen. In the cupboard under the boiler was indeed the pile of scraps and treasures that they remembered from a year and a half earlier. There were pictures, coins and other trinkets. Being the smallest, Hermoine crawled in and sorted through the pile. She emerged with a smile … and the locket!

They had all started cheering and clapping each other on the backs when Hermione noticed that Harry wasn't joining in. Everyone quickly fell silent as he took the locket from Hermione's hand and pulled out the fake from his pocket. They were identical. Neither of them was Slytherin's locket.

Gloom settled in again, alleviated somewhat when Remus pointed out that the fact that they were a matched set proved that it had been Regulas that had taken the Horcrux, but that he must have hidden it elsewhere. They had made progress, just not as much as they had hoped. They would have Dobby do a complete search of the house later, but no one was too optimistic anymore.

Soon it was lunchtime and Dobby had prepared a nice assortment of sandwiches, crisps, and fruit. Harry noticed while they were eating that Hermione had finished quickly and was becoming increasingly agitated. He soon realized what was on her mind and after finishing his own lunch turned to her and casually inquired, "Hermione, what do you say we take a look at that library now?"

She jumped up, threw her arms around him in a quick hug, and raced out of the room. Harry turned with a shrug to Ron who only shook his head and offered his standard descriptor of Hermione. "Mental."

Harry announced that he was going to join her in the library, while Ron gave him an '_are you crazy too?'_ look and decided it was time to go. Tonks had to leave as well and said she would escort Ron. They decided to leave the floo disconnected for the time being so she apparated away with Ron. Remus decided to join them in the library.

Harry mostly sat in the library and watched the rest of the day, reading things that Hermione brought and recommended to him. The sight of her excitement as she moved through the stacks, exclaiming over a particularly appealing title, or pausing to confer with Remus, brought a smile to his face. He enjoyed seeing her so happy, doing something she loved.

It occurred to him that Ron had never understood this about Hermione. That she worked so hard in her courses and studied so much, not just because she wanted to be the best in her class, or become Head Girl someday, but because she enjoyed learning new things. And by making fun of her studying so hard, he was belittling something she enjoyed doing. While Hermione did not enjoy playing quidditch (and had greatly surprised Harry by playing with them last summer at the Burrow) she supported them by going to games and cheering for them, and only criticized what she saw as their obsessive fanaticism with it when she thought it was interfering with their school work. She understood it, she just didn't agree with it. He grimaced as he recalled a Hermione retort from a long ago argument, '_At least my happiness doesn't depend on Ron's goalkeeping ability_'.

Harry's musings then turned to his own relationship with Hermione. They had essentially been living together for three weeks, and they were getting along great. He wondered if that was what it would be like being married. This naturally made him think about Ginny. If the two of them got back together after this was all over, would they get along as well as he and Hermione did? It was certainly true that Ginny excited him in ways in which he had never permitted himself to think about Hermione. He realized that he had never really given Ginny a chance, had never shared the things with her that he had with Hermione. He hadn't wanted to think about all the problems in his life when he was spending time with her, and so hadn't ever brought them up, even though she had to know at least some of what he was dealing with, just by being around him so much for the last few years.

Just thinking about her right now made him smile. He would be seeing her in a week. It wouldn't hurt to let her know he was thinking of her and looking forward to their reunion. He reached for a quill and some parchment and soon had a delivery for Dobby to make.

-----

Later that evening they made one of their regular visits to the Longbottoms. Mrs. Longbottom was quite complimentary on the progress Harry and Hermione were making with Occlumency, and told them that they might be able to start with Legilimency before the summer was out. They were quite pleased with this news. They had been practicing together every night and were gratified that their hard work had paid off. They were surprised to hear that Neville and Ron had been practicing together regularly also, although not as much as they had been. Neville had been over to the Burrow on a regular basis and told them hesitantly that he had suggested that Ginny join them. In fact, he admitted sheepishly, he had practiced with Ginny as much as he had with Ron. Harry shrugged and said he had no problem with Ginny learning too. The more he thought about it, the more he decided that it was actually a good idea. If she could protect her mind he would feel better about sharing secrets with her. When he congratulated Neville on his idea, he was amused to see him blush slightly from the praise. Hermione had a thoughtful expression on her face as they got ready to return home, but she disapparated before he could ask her about it. Harry apparated back to Privet Drive, and his mind quickly turned to other things.

---------------

A/N Personally, I think that locket is going to be the missing Horcrux in book 7 and they're going to find it in Grimmauld Place, but I wanted to write something different than what everyone else was writing.


	10. Relationships Reexamined

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Thanks to Dee (mrs. vanblundht) for her helpful suggestions with this chapter.

I suspect that this may be a controversial chapter. It could possibly annoy both H/Hr fans and H/G fans. I hope my email inbox is fireproof.

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**Chapter 10, Relationships Re-examined**

July 8

Hermione was swimming laps in the Granger pool, thinking how nice it was that they could still come over to do this every day. It probably wouldn't last much longer. In a few days they would be going to the Burrow for the wedding, and it was still uncertain what would happen after that, but they would likely be very busy.

Harry had moved into his aunt and uncle's house, but he and Hermione had decided it would be too awkward for her to move in with him, so she had stayed in the house on Turnbull Court. He was only spending nights at Privet Drive, and they still had their mirrors to communicate, so she hardly missed him. He would be joining her later to get in some laps of his own. Since she was by herself, she wore only her swimsuit bottom, and she hoped to be able to catch a little sun before Harry arrived.

Their days recently had been taken up with training with Remus and Tonks. Hermione and Harry were becoming very good at fighting together as a team. They could now hold their own against the Auror and the werewolf. As might be expected, Hermione specialized in the defensive charms while Harry mastered the offensive jinxes, although each of them learned all the spells. Harry's quickness, which enabled him to launch spells faster than any of the others, and Hermione's uncanny ability to instantly recognize and counter any spell combined to offset the advantage in experience and knowledge of the adults.

They had also noticed that the power of their spells had been increasing. Remus had responded that their magic was similar to their physical condition – just as their exercise and weight lifting were making them physically stronger, their long, daily practice sessions were making their spell casting more powerful. In addition, Hermione had also spent a lot of time studying and practicing protective charms, with the result that the empty Granger house was probably the most heavily warded structure in England. She was particularly proud of a confundus ward that made it so anyone who didn't already know where it was would discover that it was almost impossible to find. That had caused a problem one day at the houseminder service when a new employee had been sent out, only to report back an hour later that he was unable to locate the house.

Ron had joined them for some of their training, but he had to maintain his cover working at WWW, so he was somewhat behind them in the development of fighting skills and tactics. Ron was now able to apparate to the living room in the safe house, to Grimmauld Place, and to Harry's bedroom on Privet Drive, so they had four secure escape destinations counting Fred and George's back room. But for the anti-apparation wards at the Burrow, they would have added one there also.

The three had had several discussions about their search strategy. They had shaken off the disappointment of not finding the locket at Grimmauld Place, and were still optimistic. They had decided that there ought to be one at Hogwarts, and the Chamber of Secrets was the best guess as to where that one was hidden. They would be going there later in the month. Harry had told them that Dumbledore thought that Voldemort was planning to make one when he attacked Harry as a baby, so they were looking forward to what they might discover at Godric's Hollow. With their idea to get the Ministry to convert the Improper Use of Magic Office to Death Eater detection, they would have a busy month.

Harry was lost in thought as he apparated with the tiniest of pops into the Granger garden, and didn't notice until he walked up to the pool that Hermione was in it. He stopped just as he was about to call out a greeting when he noticed that she was swimming topless. A sly grin appeared on his face as he thought of a prank he could use to get her back for her tease of two weeks earlier. He quietly slipped inside and changed into his suit and snuck out to the pool.

Hermione didn't notice Harry sitting in the lounge chair until she was ready to climb out of the pool. Slightly disappointed that she wouldn't be able to sunbathe the way she wanted, she raised her head above the side of the pool and called out, "Harry, I didn't hear you come. How long have you been here?"

"Long enough," Harry answered with a smirk. Hermione frowned. _What was that about? She had been swimming face down the whole time, so he wouldn't have been able to see anything._

"Can you toss me my top, please?"

"What top?"

"The top for my bikini, you prat!"

"Sorry, no top here anywhere." His smirk was getting bigger.

Realization dawned on Hermione. _He's trying to prank me! It's a pretty good one, too. How am I going to get out of this?_ She decided to try one more time. "OK, could you just bring me a towel then?"

"Sorry, there don't seem to be any spare towels either." His smirk was now becoming insufferable.

Hermione considered her predicament. If she gave in he would win, and would probably demand some embarrassing concession from her. She hated losing. An idea came into her head. The loser in a prank was the one who was most embarrassed. Who would be more embarrassed if she climbed out of the pool and let him see her topless, him or her? She was certain he had never seen any woman's breasts before, let alone his best friend's. She, on the other hand, had been topless in front of lots of guys on the beaches in France and he wouldn't have been aware of this. Still, it was one thing to bare yourself to strangers on a beach where most of the other girls were dong the same, quite another to do it to your best friend where it was just the two of you. She sighed and made her decision.

Harry was still thinking of what he was going to make Hermione do once she started pleading with him when he saw her put her hands on the edge of the pool and hoist herself up. He froze in shock, unable to take his eyes off of her as she climbed to her feet and casually walked over to him. His eyes followed her every move as she reached her arms up and back to wring out her hair. Eeep! Then she laid down on her stomach _(thank God!)_ on the lounge next to him and turned and smiled at him.

Despite her casual demeanor, Hermione's heart was pounding as she walked toward Harry. Could she really pull this off? She couldn't help but notice his shocked expression and the fact that he could not look away. Devilishly, she couldn't resist adding the motion that would really get his attention when she raised her arms up to her hair. She laid down on the lounge and turned to him and smiled in triumph.

"Hermione?" Harry's voice squeaked.

She had won! "Yes?" she answered calmly.

"You can have your top back now." His voice was still unnaturally high.

Total victory! "That's OK, I don't need it after all," she said sweetly, still smiling at him.

Harry's mind raced. She had really gotten him this time. He had to get his voice under control and stop breathing so hard. A thought came to him. Maybe he could salvage a little out of this one. He waited until he thought he could speak normally. "Hermione?"

"Mmhmm?" She was still smiling broadly at him.

"You remember the conversation we had that night about how guys compare girls' um …breasts?"

"Yes?" The smile was a little more hesitant now.

"Well, yours are perfect."

Hermione turned pink at this as Harry looked over with a tentative smile. Drat. He had got her just a little after all. Still, even if it wasn't a total victory it was still a win. She forced a bright smile on her face and propped herself up slightly on her elbows. "Why thank you Harry. How sweet of you to say so."

Harry gulped and decided it was time for a swim.

Hermione had noticed Harry's physical reaction. _It was hard to miss, with that nice tight swimsuit he wears, _she smiled to herself. After watching him fly through the water for a good fifteen minutes, she decided she should talk to him to make sure he understood everything that had happened. She found her top under Harry's towel, put it on and went over to sit on the edge of the pool and waited.

Harry's mind churned as fast as his arms as he raced back and forth across the pool.

'_I can't believe she did that!'_

'_She sure looked good, though didn't she?'_

'_Stop it! You can't think that about your best friend. Your sister, remember?'_

'_Even best friends can look good, can't they?'_

'_What about the reaction you had?'_

'_I'm a guy, what do you expect?'_

'_You should be able to control yourself. What's she going to think?'_

'_She'll think she got me excited. What do you suppose she was trying to do?'_

'_She was getting you back. What did you expect?'_

'_Wow, who knew Hermione was so …'_

'_Don't go there!'_

'_Right.'_

'_Anyway, you've seen her in a bikini top. You already knew pretty much what her …'_

'_It's not the same, OK?'_

'_How do you think Ron would react if he saw Ginny like that?'_

'_Huh. After he threw a blanket over her you mean?'_

Harry's thoughts drifted to what Ginny would look like similarly attired. Even Ron would have to admit that Ginny looked really …_Yikes!_ Ron would definitely kill him if he could see his reaction to that thought. Harry tried to focus on his swimming and drive the image of a topless Ginny out of his head. It took quite some time.

Eventually, Harry was worn out, and as he swam over to get out he noticed Hermione sitting there. He climbed out and sat down next to her.

"I just wanted to make sure you were OK with what happened" she began. "I don't want you to feel bad."

"I think I got it figured out. I just didn't expect you to be so bold."

"It wasn't as bold as you think. But you didn't leave me with much choice. You didn't expect me to give in, did you?"

"Well, I did, but I should have known better. You always win."

"You just remember that and we'll get along just fine."

"Yes ma'am!"

After a moment she continued, "I noticed the reaction you had. Are you OK about that?"

"Are you?"

"Of course. You're a guy. It's natural the first time you see a girl like that."

"That's what I was hoping you'd say. Can I tell you something?"

"Certainly. You know that."

"I was thinking about how Ron would feel if he saw Ginny like that. Then I thought about Ginny like that. Then, well, I sort of reacted again."

"You, Harry Potter, are a great boyfriend. Every girl would kill to have a boyfriend like that."

"What do you mean?"

"You see an attractive girl and it makes you think of your girlfriend. And you react more to the thought of your girlfriend than to the girl in front of you."

"Oh. I also did that the other day when you were wearing that suit with the bottom …"

"It's called a thong."

"Right, that suit with the thong bottom. I thought of Ginny in one and I had to jump into the pool."

"Like I said, you are the greatest boyfriend in the world."

"Anyway, I was thinking of what Ron would think about Ginny. I think he knows how attractive she is, but I don't think he would ever tell her."

"No, Ron wouldn't, but Bill would."

"Bill?"

"Bill's often told Ginny how nice she looks and complimented other things about her. It's done wonders for her confidence. And she really needed it after the Chamber."

"How do you know all that?"

"I'm her best friend. We talk about stuff like that."

"Bill's a pretty great guy, isn't he?"

"So are you, Harry. You give me compliments and make me feel good about myself."

"So I'm a good brother?"

"The best."

"I still shouldn't have stared at you though."

"Harry, I need to tell you something that you probably didn't realize. My family vacations in the French Riviera a lot. Many of the girls don't wear their bikini tops on the beaches there."

"In public? You're kidding!"

"No, actually, it's not uncommon on the continent. Girls also go topless in Germany, Scandinavia, Italy, Spain …"

"All of which you've been to no doubt."

"Of course. Girls in Britain don't do it as much, though."

"Just girls like you who travel a lot?"

"To some extent. At least that's where my mum and I picked it up. Anyway, at those beaches there are always guys, often Brits but especially Americans, who are seeing topless girls for the first time. They always stare, and often have a reaction at first, but after a while they're in control and can sit and talk to a topless girl with no reaction at all."

"Hard to believe. Whoops, sorry. Bad pun."

"Ugh. No kidding."

Hermione continued. "There'd also be families there. I'd watch how the families would interact, especially the brothers and sisters. Some of the brothers were overprotective, but some of them were just so nice. They'd watch out for their sisters but would also tell them things like how nice they looked. I always wished for a brother who would tell me I looked nice. Mum and Dad do, but that's not the same. All parents think their daughters are pretty. But I wanted a brother like Ginny has with Bill who would make me feel good about myself."

She paused and looked at Harry and smiled. "And now I have one." And with that she reached over and gave him a big hug.

As they got up and went over to their lounges and were drying themselves, Harry summoned up his courage and said, "S-so, if you went topless in front of me you think I'd eventually get used to it?" He was still struggling with this concept.

"Maybe. You got used to the small bikinis OK. I don't think we can try it until next summer, though."

"Why not?" He tried not to sound disappointed.

"Because after the wedding Ron is going to be with us. I _really_ don't think he would be able to handle it."

Harry snorted. _That was for sure_. Then he had an idea. "Well, maybe that would make him notice you and you know, maybe …?"

"No." Hermione sighed. "I'm not going to go after his weakness. That's just not me. He might enjoy it for a while but eventually he'd look at me like some kind of 'scarlet woman'. And how desperate must I be if I have to take off my clothes to get him to notice me?" She turned toward him and got serious. "Harry, I really hate the kind of person I turned into last year. I am not going to go after him any more. If that means nothing ever happens between us, I can live with it."

Harry nodded his understanding.

Hermione got another evil grin on her face. "But maybe I can have Ginny over some time and the two of us can try it."

Harry's eyes glazed over. Then he stiffened. "Hermione! Cut it out!"

"Don't worry about it Harry, just roll over on your stomach until it goes away." She was laughing so hard she couldn't stand up and just curled up on her lounge shaking.

They talked and teased and laughed for the rest of the afternoon. Harry noticed Hermione gradually going silent and he knew something was bothering her. He waited, knowing she would tell him when she was ready.

All the talk about boyfriends and girlfriends had an effect on Hermione. This had been on her mind for a while and she thought this might be a good time to ask.

"Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Of course. You know that."

"I know. And I trust you too. That's why I think I can ask you this." Hermione paused a long time, while Harry waited patiently. "Will you kiss me?"

"What!"

Hermione was very nervous and her words started slowly but then came tumbling out. "Back when you first came that night when you were talking about snogging, you said Ginny told Ron that I had snogged Viktor but I didn't really."

"You didn't kiss Viktor?"

"He tried to kiss me after the Yule Ball, but I was so surprised I didn't kiss him back. And after that he tried a few times to get me alone, but … well I was still hoping for Ron then, but the biggest reason I ignored him was because I was spending all my time trying to keep you alive."

Harry felt bad at this. "So I was keeping you apart."

Hermione sensed what he was feeling. "No, even if it hadn't been for that it wouldn't have worked out with Viktor. He was too old for me and he lived in Bulgaria – my parents weren't too happy about it either."

"So anyway, I've never kissed anyone. And I've always wanted my first kiss to be with someone special and no one's more special to me than you and we do like each other and it wouldn't need to be serious or …" she broke off and looked at him hopefully.

Harry took her hand and pulled her to her feet. He could do this for his best friend. It wasn't like it was going to be unpleasant. He smiled at her and she smiled back shyly. As he leaned toward her she parted her lips slightly and closed her eyes. He moved forward.

Her lips were soft and sweet. It felt nice and pleasant and comfortable. It felt warm and safe and relaxing. It felt like Hermione. He nibbled lightly at her lower lip, then moved to her upper lip. She responded in kind. Finally he just pressed his lips gently against hers.

Kissing Hermione was very different than kissing Ginny. There was a familiarity to it, but not the passion, as if they were just friends exchanging an intimate moment and nothing more.

After about ten seconds he broke the kiss and pulled away. Hermione just stood there with her eyes closed and a smile on her face. "Mmmm," she said dreamily. "That was so nice. Just like I always dreamed a first kiss should be."

Harry was a little uneasy. _First?_

Hermione quickly tried to put him at ease. "I didn't mean it like there would be a second and third and so on for us, I meant it as my first real kiss from a boy." She affected a dreamy expression. "Just think, I'll be able to tell my grandchildren that my first kiss was from the famous Harry Potter."

Harry immediately picked up on it. "Hey, I'm going to be able to say that I gave the famous Hermione Granger, the first muggle-born Minister of Magic, her first kiss!"

Hermione smiled and punched him in the arm, then became more serious and continued, "Don't worry Harry, I'm very happy with the relationship we have now. But if we were normal people in normal times, we might decide to see if it could work out between us. We might start with holding hands, then a tentative first kiss. That could lead to more and we might fall in love. But there's too much happening in our lives to even think about that now, not to mention that you already have a girlfriend."

She saw that he had relaxed, then smiled and said, "It was a nice kiss, though."

Harry thought a bit. "It was certainly better than the time I kissed Cho."

Hermione was delighted to hear this. She had never thought Harry and Cho were right for each other. Even though it had been inadvertent, she was secretly glad that she had had at least a part in their breakup. "You only kissed her the one time, then?"

Harry nodded.

Hermione couldn't resist. "And how about Ginny?"

Harry turned bright red. "Uh, that's not exactly the same way that I kiss Ginny."

"Well I hope not!" and they both laughed.

Harry thought about what she had said earlier. "That falling in love bit you just went on about. Is that from a story you read?"

Hermione blushed. "You caught me. No, actually my mum told me that before she left. That's what happened with her and my dad. They were real good friends like we are, then one day they just started holding hands, and it gradually developed into a romance. She's hoping it will work that way for us." She noticed that he was staring at her by now. "Harry, they really like you. She'd like to have you for a son-in-law." Now he looked like he was going to go into shock. "Harry! I'm sure Mrs. Weasley has been hoping for you as a son-in-law for years! Probably at least half of the parents from Hogwarts would say the same thing."

She moved closer to him and took both of his hands to calm him down. "Harry, I'm perfectly satisfied to be best friends with you. That's absolutely what's best for both of us right now. Maybe in a few years after this is all over and if we're both single, we might want to give it a try. But right here, right now all I want is to be your best friend and for you to be my best friend."

She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest; he quickly responded by putting his arms around her and they both held each other tight. It didn't matter that they were wearing the briefest of clothing. It didn't matter that his hands were caressing her bare back or that her hands were doing the same. It didn't matter that only a couple of small scraps of fabric separated her breasts from his chest. He was perfectly comfortable now. She was Hermione. She was his closest friend. And that was just fine.

-----

Eventually they packed up their things and apparated back to the house on Turnbull Court for supper. They talked about their upcoming plans for a while, but when they finished Hermione asked Harry to wait a bit before returning to Privet Drive. She led him over to the couch.

Harry beat her to it. "OK, what serious discussion do we need to have this time? We've pretty much covered everything about you and me, haven't we?"

"This time it's about you and Ginny."

Harry was silent as he locked eyes with Hermione. She knew him well enough to know that he would be uncomfortable talking about this, and he knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't be satisfied with his standard 'everything's fine' answer but that she would accept it. He recalled their conversation a few weeks ago about not keeping things to himself unnecessarily. He knew he could trust her.

"It was the strangest thing, you know? I felt like a different person when I was with her, like I was living someone else's life. It was wonderful; I could forget about everything and be a normal guy with his girl. I didn't have to think about prophecies or Voldemort or Death Eaters …" He gazed wistfully into the darkness.

"That's why I had to break up with her. I knew I needed to go back to my real life, to do what I knew I had to do. I didn't have the luxury of being a normal person any longer."

Hermione's heart broke at these words. She knew that it was what he had wanted for so long – to be normal – and he felt he had to give it up. Uncharacteristically, she couldn't find any words to comfort him or tell him he was wrong. "So you never told her anything? Not about the prophecy or what you were doing with Dumbledore or …"

"No! I couldn't, don't you see? I didn't want to think about that stuff while I was with her. It would have ruined my dream world with her."

"Is that being fair to her? Doesn't she deserve to be a part of your 'real' life? Do you expect her to just wait until you're finished with your destiny so you can come back and pick up where you left off?"

"No, I guess it wasn't fair. But it doesn't matter now. I can't be with her until this is over. It would just be too dangerous for her."

"You'd better hope she's willing to wait that long."

"What do you mean?"

"Harry, Ginny's one of the most popular girls at Hogwarts. When she said last year that she had _chosen_ Dean Thomas she wasn't kidding. She had at least half a dozen offers. After she broke up with Dean this year there were guys lined up to ask her out. Since you had been hanging around her and showing so much interest she decided to wait and see if you would do anything. At the party after the last quidditch match she told me she was tired of waiting and was going to jump you as soon as you came through the door."

Harry just stared at her. He knew Ginny was a popular girl, but he hadn't realized… Then he suddenly remembered what she had told him when he broke up with her. That she had never given up on him. So she was ready and waiting for him … he smiled briefly.

Then he remembered what else she had said. "Hermione, Ginny said something that day that still bothers me. She said that she knew that I was breaking up with her for some noble reason, that she knew that I wouldn't be happy unless I was hunting Voldmort."

"I know, you told us that before."

But then she said, 'That's why I like you so much.'"

Hermione tried to stifle a gasp. _Oh no, Ginny, you couldn't have said that!_

Harry either didn't hear her gasp or ignored it as he continued, "For a minute there, she sounded like a fan girl. I know she used to have that crush on me and it was probably because I was the Boy Who Lived, but she must have gotten over that by now, hasn't she Hermione? Doesn't Ginny know me better than that?"

Hermione recovered enough to sound reassuring. "I'm sure she does, Harry. But don't you see? You know you're going to see her this summer, and you'll be spending at least some time with her. You have to talk to her, give her more of an idea what's going on in your real life. Make sure she knows the real you."

"I think I understand what you're trying to say Hermione. I'll think about it." They both stood up and hugged each other. "Good night, Hermione. Thanks for caring enough to talk to me about stuff even though I try to keep it to myself."

Hermione laughed. "That's what I'm here for Harry. See you tomorrow."

Harry apparated back to his room at Privet Drive, and Hermione went into her room and got ready for bed. But sleep did not come quickly to either that night. Interestingly, what each had said was causing the other to rethink their positions.

Hermione was not at all sure anymore that Ginny was the girl for Harry. Had she really not gotten over her hero worship? She fretted a long time before falling asleep.

Harry thought a long time about what he should tell Ginny. Maybe he did owe her more of the truth. After all she had been through with him, she probably deserved it. He pondered this until sleep finally came for him also.

------------------

A/N I know it's not very likely, but I wanted them to kiss and this was the best way that I could come up with. Jeconais has written several stories where Harry and Hermione love each other as friends even though they're in a relationship with someone else. In one, 'White Knight, Grey Queen', they even kiss. I borrowed a line from that story to help describe Harry's reaction to the kiss. The topless Hermione scene was inspired by a similar scene in Melindaleo's 'Curse of the Damned. In that scene the Weasley boys and Harry are skinnydipping and Ginny and Hermione steal their clothes. Fred decides to take the dare and walks out of the water and right up to Hermione stark naked and takes his clothes back. Hermione can't take her eyes off of him.


	11. Return to the Burrow

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Thanks to Old Crow and Dee (mrs. vanblundht) for prereading this and the next chapter. It was originally one chapter, but as a result of their input it nearly doubled the length, so I split it into two.

---------------

**Chapter 11, Return to the Burrow**

Friday, July 11

With a soft pop, Harry and Hermione appeared just outside the anti-apparation wards at the Burrow and started walking up the lane toward the house. Just for fun, they had worn their muggle disguises and clothing.

"It will be so good to see everyone again," said Hermione excitedly.

"Remember, we need to get out of these disguises before anyone but the Weasleys see us." Harry cautioned. After a moment he added, "Probably shouldn't even let Percy see us."

Molly was in her kitchen and happened to notice two teens dressed in muggle clothing approaching the house. "That's strange, I wonder what they're doing here?" The notice-me-not charms on the house usually prevented any muggles from coming this close.

Ron, who had been expecting them, called out, "Ginny and I will go check them out."

As Ron and Ginny approached the pair, the unknown girl stopped and put her hand on her hip, appearing to be impatient. Ginny thought that the gesture seemed awfully familiar. She turned her attention to the blonde-haired boy. He looked familiar as well. Then she noticed his green eyes, which were flashing his amusement. Suddenly it hit her. "Harry!" she screamed and launched herself into his arms. Quickly her mouth found his and the rest of the world was tuned out for a while.

After he recovered his senses, Harry glanced over at Ron, surprised to see him staring open-mouthed at Hermione, who had a very satisfied look on her face. That was strange, he thought, Ron knew we were coming this morning. Then he took a better look at Hermione. She was dressed in her muggle summer clothing, which he recalled was considerably more revealing that what she normally wore at the Weasleys. She had on a pair of short shorts and a tight thin-strapped tank top that showed her figure off very nicely. She had acquired a nice tan, which was emphasized by her currently long blonde hair. Over the past month, he had become so used to seeing Hermione dressed like this that he didn't notice any more but now that he thought about it again, she looked really good!

With an evil smirk, Harry leaned over to Hermione and whispered, "All you need now is a padded bra and you're all set."

"Ouch!" Hermione's elbow had found his ribs, and she glared at him, but it slowly changed into a smirk of her own. Impulsively, he reached out and put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a quick hug.

Ron's open-mouthed stare had now changed into a look of curiosity. "What's with you two?"

Hermione saw her chance to tease Ron a little. "Well, we _have_ been living together for a month." She was rewarded with another open-mouthed stare from Ron, but then noticed a look of panic appear on Ginny's face. "Oh honestly, I'm just kidding!" She straightened up and motioned for Harry to do likewise. "Ron, Ginny, I'd like to introduce you to my brother, Harry Potter."

Harry picked it up smoothly, "And I'd like to introduce you to my sister, Hermione Granger."

The looks on Ron and Ginny's faces were replaced with ones of confusion. "What on earth are you two going on about?"

Harry and Hermione quickly explained about how they had resolved their feelings for each other and declared their brother/sister relationship. Hermione gave Ron and Ginny hugs (Harry noticed that Ron held his a little longer than normal), then Harry and Ron slapped each other on the back. "Good to see you, mate!"

Harry put his arm around Ginny and held her close as they walked the rest of the way up to the house. Leaning in he said in a low voice, "You know, we can't do this when people are around."

"I know," she replied glumly.

All of a sudden they heard, "GINEVRA WEASLEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

They jumped apart quickly, then they all looked at each other. "Do you suppose I should introduce Mom to my cute new blonde muggle boyfriend?" Ginny said with a sly look on her face.

The four of them laughed as they hurried into the house to re-introduce Harry and Hermione to Mrs. Weasley. While they were talking, Winky appeared. After hesitating for a moment, she gathered up her courage and approached Harry, thanking him profusely in her squeaky voice for putting her with the Weasley family. Harry knelt down and gave her a hug, and Hermione did also. Harry snuck a nervous glance over at Hermione to see how she was taking it, and was relieved to see her give him a small smile. She had apparently resigned herself to having Winky working for the Weasleys.

"And so," Harry concluded a short time later, "We've been living in a house in London disguised as muggles. We'll be able to use it as a safe hideaway this summer. But if you excuse us, we need to wash out our hair color and get back to normal. The fewer people see us like this, the safer we'll be."

"You can use the shower," he said to Hermione as they climbed the stairs. "I'll wash mine out in the sink."

"OK." Hermione said as she disappeared into Ginny's room. She reappeared shortly wearing a robe. Harry ducked into Ron's room and took off his shirt, then headed towards the bathroom a little later.

"Harry?" Harry turned to find Ron staring at him again. "You can't go in there while Hermione's in the shower!"

Harry mimicked Hermione's earlier answer. "Well, we _have_ been living together for a month." Ron's stare turned into a glare. "Ron," he sighed, "we told you, we think of each other as brother and sister. With all the kids in your family, and only one bathroom, don't tell me you've never seen Ginny in a towel, or in her underwear?"

"It better be at least a towel." Ron muttered as Harry knocked on the door. Hearing from Hermione that she was safely in the shower, he entered the bathroom and went to the sink. Carefully peeling off the makeup from his scar, he soaped up his hair, then used his wand to direct a stream of water all over it, rinsing out the coloring. Finishing with a drying charm, he called to Hermione that the bathroom was all hers again and returned to Ron's room to finish changing.

Eventually Hermione, looking her normal self, and Ginny joined them and they sat down to talk about their how their summer had gone so far. Ron and Ginny were absolutely loving the story of Hermione's encounter with the Dursleys when Hermione suddenly got a gleam in her eye that Harry now recognized. A prank was coming. Hermoine stood up and said, with an exaggerated old English accent. "And then, I turned him into a newt." Harry figured it out immediately, but Ron and Ginny had puzzled looks on their faces. Hermione and he had just watched 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' the night before.

Harry stood up and answered, "Well, he got better." Then he started shouting and pointing at Hermione. "She's a witch, she's a witch! Burn her! Burn her!" At that point the two of them doubled over laughing and collapsed on the beds, Harry beside Ginny and Hermione beside Ron. Their attempted explanations just resulted in Ron and Ginny shaking their heads. Hermione finally just asserted that she and Harry would have to introduce them to more muggle culture and let it go at that.

Then Ron and Ginny took turns telling about what they had been doing. Hermione at first rolled her eyes as Ron began to tell her about the brooms he had bought, but at a scolding look from Harry she began to listen politely, if not enthusiastically as he described her new broom. At Ginny's wistful look Harry felt guilty and decided that they would buy a broom for her too. Next, Ginny was telling about her OWL's when Hedwig suddenly appeared and began to nip at Harry excitedly. "I've missed you too, girl," Harry laughed as he got out some treats.

"How's Crookshanks been?" asked Hermione.

Ginny frowned. "He was OK for a while, but he's been acting real strange lately. We thought maybe he was missing you." At that moment, Crookshanks darted into the room. Instead of settling down in Hermione's lap, he continued to prowl agitatedly around the room.

"Well, I guess that wasn't it." Hermione observed dryly. She reached for her cat, but he dashed away again.

"You know," mused Ron. "I haven't seen him act like this since third year. You know, when he was trying to kill Scabbers?"

"Ron!" Hermione retorted, "He wasn't trying to kill Scabbers, he was just…" she broke off, her eyes wide as she quickly turned to Harry.

"Wormtail!" they both shouted. "Crookshanks, where is he?"

Crookshanks raced from the room and Harry, Ron, and Hermione dashed after him. Ginny, who had been sitting on the bed enjoying being next to Harry, suddenly found herself alone in the room. "Those three never tell me anything," she growled, then leapt to her feet and ran after them.

Crookshanks led them outside and along the side of the house. Suddenly, he swerved out into the yard. They caught a glimpse of a rat speeding toward the edge of the property. "He's trying to get outside the anti-apparation wards," Ron shouted. But Crookshanks was too fast for the rat in the open field and pounced on it snarling. Suddenly, in a process they remembered all too well from the Shrieking Shack, the rat started changing into a man.

"Stupefy!" "Stupefy!" "Petrificus Totalus!" three voices rang out and Pettigrew fell, rigid and unconscious. Harry turned and gave Hermione a quick smirk. "You always have to be different, don't you?" She stuck her tongue out at him and his smirk turned into a smile. Quickly getting serious he shouted, "Ron, get to the floo and call Remus! Tell him to bring Tonks over right away! Ron dashed away. "Hermione, levitate him back to the house. I'll keep my wand on him and make sure he stays stunned." As the two of them moved away, they didn't notice Ginny who had run up behind them and was now standing there watching them wistfully. She gathered up Crookshanks and followed them back into the house.

Soon Remus and Tonks arrived amid general bedlam. Uncharacteristically, Remus was extremely agitated and had trouble deciding what to do. Suddenly he went over and started kicking the unconscious Pettigrew, shouting incoherently. "Trusted you … James and Lily … Betrayed … Harry … Saved your life … Should have killed you …" Finally, Harry and Ron managed to pull him away and he collapsed on the floor shaking.

On the other hand, Tonks was calm and collected. Taking prisoners into custody was what she was trained to do. Making a smart remark about Remus and the extra paperwork he was causing her, she methodically put antiapparation manacles on Pettigrew, made sure he was still stunned, and took him away to the ministry. She was sure that she would make quite a stir at work today.

Eventually Remus calmed down, and he, Bill, and Arthur sat down with the teens to consider the ramifications of the capture of Pettigrew. Molly had gone off on a long rant, frantic about how this incident would affect the wedding, and had had to be given a calming draught. While everyone had hoped differently, they knew that the wedding of a prominent supporter of the light side would make a tempting target. Now they knew beyond a doubt that something was up. They decided that Voldemort undoubtedly knew the day and time of the ceremony, but that Pettigrew's timely capture meant that he didn't know that Harry was there, or what other guests would be attending. They had already put up the anti-apparation wards, and had several strengthening charms on the house, including an impervious charm to resist reduction blasts and a flame suppressing charm. They decided that, although it was a difficult spell that required a lot of magic, they would add an impediment jinx to the wards. This would mean that upon apparating outside the wards, attacking Death Eaters would be slowed down while struggling to get through, which would make them sitting ducks for a counterattack. With all of them working together combining their magic, they managed to add this reinforcement. Arthur and Bill then went to visit the Ministry to see about getting Auror support. Remus left to check up on Tonks and Pettigrew, and the four teens went back inside to help Mrs. Weasley.

-----

That afternoon Ginny was still working in the kitchen and the other three were resting on the front porch, still talking about Pettigrew. Suddenly the conversation came to a halt, and everyone was staring toward the front yard. Viktor Krum was walking up the lane toward the Burrow.

"Viktor!" Hermione ran down the lane to greet him. Harry smiled as he watched her give her friend a quick hug, then begin talking animatedly with him. Then he noticed that Ron had a deep scowl on his face.

Making a quick decision Harry called out, "Hermione, you catch up with Viktor for a while; Ron and I will finish up." Viktor and Hermione looked up as Harry gave a wave and grabbed Ron and dragged him back inside.

"What are you doing?" snapped Ron. "Finish up what?"

"We're going to talk," growled Harry. "Now!" Harry forced Ron up the stairs and into their room and slammed the door.

"Dammit Ron, do you want Hermione or not?"

"What!"

"Are you attracted to Hermione?" Harry demanded. Ron simply sputtered. Harry continued, "Do you want her for a girlfriend?"

"Are you mad? I told you before, she's just a friend!"

"Then why do you get so bloody jealous about Viktor? You get angry every time his name comes up."

Ron stood gaping. His mouth opened and closed several times but no sound came out. Finally he found his voice. "She's…she's…she's just Hermione. She's supposed to be with us."

Harry stared at Ron for a minute, digesting this statement. "You think if she had a boyfriend she wouldn't be friends with us anymore?" Harry said disbelievingly.

"Well, no, but she wouldn't hang around with us as much, would she? She wouldn't be able to help us as much," Ron mumbled as he stared at his shoes.

Harry was enraged. "You had a girlfriend! I've had girlfriends! How is that any different?" Her continued to glare at Ron, but Ron wouldn't meet his eyes. "You weren't hanging around with us very much while you were snogging Lavender. You can't have it both ways, Ron."

Ron continued to study his shoes in silence. Harry decided to take the plunge and said in a low voice, "You know she fancied you, don't you?"

Ron's head snapped up at this, but he still wouldn't meet Harry's eyes. "I sorta guessed that she did, especially when she asked me to Slughorn's party, but I was trying to pretend she didn't. She's just not what I envision when I think of a girlfriend."

Harry thought about his conversation with Hermione. "Let me guess. You picture a pretty girl with blonde hair, blue eyes … and a great figure."

Ron nodded. "It's that obvious?"

"Well, given what Lavender looks like, and the way you drool around Fleur, it was a pretty easy guess. And I noticed the way you perked up when Hermione showed up this morning with long blonde hair."

"I do not drool around Fleur!"

Harry thought some more. He had also described Luna, but it would probably not be a good idea to bring _that_ up. He then decided to try another approach. "Looks aren't everything though, right? I mean, my dream girl would be pretty and slender with long black hair. Cho was all that, and look at what a disaster that relationship turned out to be."

Ron looked startled. "I thought you were attracted to redheads."

"Why would you think that?"

"Well, your mom had red hair, and Ginny has red hair."

"Ginny has lots of attractive qualities other than her hair. I mean, think about it. She's had red hair for as long as I've known her, but I wasn't attracted to her until this year as I really got to know what she's like." Harry paused, then added, "And you thought I'd be attracted to a girl just because she looks like my mom? Anyone who would think that would be important is delusional!"

Harry thought some more. "You know, Hermione's a lot more like my mom than Ginny is."

"How do you figure?"

"Well, think about it, Ron. They're both muggle borns. They were both the smartest witch in their year. According to Slughorn, my mom excelled in all her classes like Hermione does. My mom was head girl and you know Hermione's going to be head girl. And my mom was constantly nagging my dad and Sirius to behave, like Hermione does with us."

"But your mom was really pretty."

"You don't think Hermione's pretty?"

"She's just sort of average looking. She's just Hermione. She never wears makeup and her hair's kind of a mess. I mean, that's OK I guess if that's what she wants to look like. That's just the way she is." Ron finished by saying, "I like her a lot, though. She's my best friend besides you."

Harry was silent as he thought about his friend. Maybe some day Ron would be able to look past superficial things about girls. He wasn't sure Hermione would be willing to wait that long.

Harry thought back to the event that had brought them up here and decided to deal with one more topic while they were talking.

"Ron, there's one more thing. You've got to get over being jealous so often."

Ron was instantly on the defensive. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Harry chose his words carefully. "Ron, you're a great guy and I love you like a brother. And I'm telling you this because you're my friend. You have a real problem with jealousy."

Ron was silent at first. Then his shoulders slumped and he said in a low voice, "It's not that bad, is it?"

"Ron, you're jealous every time you see Krum. You're jealous of your brothers; you're jealous of Ginny. You're jealous when good things happen to me or to Hermione. It's so bad that we're are almost afraid to tell you when we have good news." He took a deep breath. "Every one is different, Ron. Hermione's brilliant and she studies a lot harder than we do. We can't feel bad when she gets recognized in class or when she gets O's in all her OWL's. We're happy for her because she's our friend. Fred and George make people laugh, but you got more OWL's than the two of them combined. Bill and Percy were Head Boys, but you can't possibly be jealous of Percy the way he's turned out." Here Ron snorted. Harry continued, "Ginny's really popular at school, but what about all those years that she was ignored by her brothers? Charlie won a Quidditch Cup and I won a Quidditch Cup. Now you've won two Quidditch Cups. I'm a good seeker, but I couldn't keep goal to save my life."

Harry paused, gathering himself for the next part. This had always bothered him and he could feel himself start to become emotional. He decided for this once not to hold back. "Hermione and I are only children. That's one of the things that led to us calling ourselves brother and sister. We've never had what you've had all your life. Do you have any idea how much we envy you for having grown up with brothers and a sister?"

Harry was on the verge of losing it, but didn't care now. "You're jealous that I'm rich and famous. Haven't you seen that I HATE being famous? Bloody hell, Ron, I'm famous because my parents died and I somehow lived when I was a baby! DON'T YOU THINK I'D GIVE ALL THE MONEY I HAVE IF I COULD JUST HAVE MY PARENTS BACK?" Harry couldn't take it any more. All the pressure that had been accumulating and the feelings he had been suppressing for the last month broke loose and came crashing down on him. Embarrassed now, he hid his head in his hands and began sobbing, trying desperately to regain control.

What happened next stunned Harry. Ron came forward and grabbed Harry in a great bear hug, with Harry's head resting on his shoulder. As Harry fought to regain control, he felt a soft pair of hands hug him from behind, then another. Tenderly, Hermione and Ginny peeled him away from Ron and led him into their room where they sat him on a bed between them and continued to comfort him. For a change, he ignored his instinct to pull away and withdraw into himself, instead relaxing into their arms.

As the girls led Harry out of the room, Ron stood face to face with Viktor Krum. He gulped and put out his hand. "Hello Viktor. I'm Ron Weasley."

Krum had an unreadable expression on his face. "I know who you are. I'm honored to shake your hand."

"What? Why?"

"Were you not one of the five Hogwarts students who fought with Harry Potter at the Department of Mysteries in your Ministry of Magic? That was the most inspiring victory for the light side in this war! Six students held off twelve veteran Death Eaters! Surely you must be used to being honored for this heroic feat? You must have received medals from your ministry."

"B-but you're an international quidditch hero!"

"Bah! Playing a sport does not make one a hero. Risking your life against overwhelming odds for a cause you believe in, that is what makes you a hero!"

Ron stood with a stunned expression on his face for another moment, then extended his hand again and shook hands with the most famous quidditch player in the world, who had just called _him_ a hero.

Harry was feeling better, not surprisingly since two pretty girls were hugging him, when he heard Ron and Viktor approaching the room. Hermione got up to let them in and he heard Viktor saying, "I would also like to meet the other three students."

"Well," Ron said proudly as they entered the bedroom, "one of them is right here. My sister, Ginny Weasley." With a confused expression Ginny rose from where she was still hugging Harry, and Viktor repeated the same things he had just told Ron. A flushed Ginny sat back down by Harry in a daze. He smiled and put his arm around her to give her a congratulatory hug as Hermione beamed at Viktor. Harry noticed with satisfaction that Ron did not scowl this time.

Then Viktor turned to Harry. "And Harry Potter. I must thank you for changing my life. Because of your example I made a decision that has given my life meaning. I have quit playing silly games and have dedicated myself to fighting Voldemort. I would be honored to be allowed to fight by your side."

Harry nodded. He had felt a bond with the dour Bulgarian ever since the tournament. "And I would be honored as well." He stood and shook Viktor's hand, then clasped him on the shoulder. As he did he could hear Ron muttering, "Silly game? Quidditch? Silly game?" and was unable to suppress a smile.

Eventually Hermione asked, "So, Viktor, you are here for Bill and Fleur's wedding?"

"Of course, Fleur is one of my best friends."

There was a look of astonishment on three faces, but Harry just nodded. Viktor noticed the astonished looks and raised an eyebrow. Hermione recovered first. "It-it's just that you seem so different. You're so serious and she's …"

"Such a ditz," said Ginny before she could stop herself.

Viktor's familiar scowl returned at this. "Fleur was a Tri-wizard champion, just as were Harry and myself."

"And Cedric." Harry interrupted.

"Thank you. And Cedric. When people share an experience such as that a bond is formed. I believe, Hermy-own-nee, that you told me a frightening experience with a troll brought the three of you together. On the surface, you would not seem to have much in common with Harry and Ron. Fleur is one of the bravest witches I know."

The other three looked abashed at that revelation. Harry then spoke in a low voice. "I'm quite disappointed in the three of you with your attitudes toward Fleur. Especially you Hermione. I wouldn't expect you to make a judgment on someone from surface appearances. You all go on about how brave I was facing that dragon, or going into the lake. Remember, there were three others who faced a dragon that day, three others who went down into that lake to rescue their loved ones. Four people entered that maze and only three came out alive."

Ron swallowed hard, and there were tears in the eyes of Hermione and Ginny. It was hard to know who felt worse, Hermione that she had failed to live up to Harry's opinion of her, or Ginny that Harry expected more from Hermione than he did from her. Viktor nodded to Harry with satisfaction on his face. As he had expected, there was clearly a bond between him and Harry as well, and he suspected that Harry felt similarly toward Fleur.

The room was silent for some time. Finally Harry said, "OK let's put this behind us. We all make mistakes. Merlin knows I've made plenty. Ron and Ginny, why don't you go see what's happening downstairs. I think Hermione and I need to talk to Viktor some more."

"Oh, and Ginny?" Ginny turned to look at him. "Remember, we're just friends now." Ginny turned away sadly, fighting to keep tears from her eyes. Ron put his arm around her and they walked off together.

Harry led Hermione and Viktor into his room and cast a privacy charm on the door and window. He looked at Hermione for a moment and she nodded, then he turned to Viktor. "There are some things going on that I can't tell you about. I mean, some of this we haven't even told Mr. and Mrs. Weasley," he said apologetically.

Victor just nodded. "I understand. I will do whatever I can to help."

Harry continued, "Hermione and I have basically disappeared. We're here for the wedding because people would be even more suspicious if I didn't come to this, but after the wedding we disappear again. Actually, officially Hermione isn't even here either. No one was supposed to see her. She'll be under an invisibility cloak at the wedding. We didn't expect anyone to come until later."

"I'm supposed to be out of the country with my parents, "Hermione added.

"And I messed it up by coming a day early," responded Viktor. "I'm sorry, but I wanted to talk to you alone."

"That's OK, I appreciate your offer and I have something that I think you can do for us. I'm just telling you that so that you don't give her away tomorrow." Harry continued, outlining his plan to use the Department of Underage Magic to hunt down Death Eaters. "So I need someone in the Ministry that I can trust to work on this," he finished. "I just wish I could think of a way to persuade the Ministry to take you in."

Viktor had an amused expression on his face. Harry was somewhat startled. He wasn't sure he had ever seen Viktor smile. Viktor just said, "Harry Potter!"

Harry was confused. "Really Viktor, please just call me Harry."

"No," Viktor said, "you do not understand. I am Viktor Krum. You are Harry Potter. I can walk into the Ministry of Magic in any country in Europe and they would give me any job I asked for! You could do the same."

Hermione was smiling at Harry as he finally realized how fame could sometimes be useful, and he broke into a smile as well. "That's great! You and I will go see the Minister as soon as the wedding is over. I only wish we could figure out a way to get Hermione in there as well."

Viktor thought a minute. "Some sort of disguise?"

Harry replied, "We've thought of that, and she does have a pretty good disguise – even fooled Ginny for a while this morning – but it would look suspicious if I showed up at the Ministry with a stranger."

Viktor suggested, "Perhaps a distant relative?"

Harry pondered this suggestion a moment, then a smile slowly appeared on his face and he turned to Hermione. "Do you speak French?"

Hermione looked at him curiously, then grinned. "Mais oui!"

Harry looked puzzled. "May we what?" Hermione and Viktor broke out into laughter.

"Harry, that's French for 'of course'. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Harry nodded. "How about English with a French accent?"

Hermione laughed again. "I think Fleur has a cousin she doesn't know about yet." She clapped her hands together excitedly. "Now I won't have to wear that invisibility cloak to the wedding!"

-----

That evening Fleur arrived with her family to introduce them to the Weasleys. Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Viktor were waiting to greet them.

Fleur first went up to Harry to reintroduce him to her sister Gabrielle. Harry couldn't believe how mature Gabrielle looked! Hadn't this been a little girl just two years ago? Looking over at the others, he noticed Ron with a familiar dazed look on his face and Ginny trying to hide a scowl. He turned to greet Fleur and Gabrielle.

"Arry, this is my sister Gabrielle. She has been looking forward so much to meeting you again." Gabrielle gave Harry a dazzling smile and he was proud that he was able to keep himself under control.

"It's good to see you again Gabrielle. You've certainly grown up since I saw you last."

Gabrielle was disappointed that she didn't seem to be having any effect on Harry. "I'll be starting my third year at Beauxbatons in the fall. I'm so glad to see you again." She lowered her voice suggestively, "I wanted to thank you again for saving me, perhaps a little more personally."

Harry continued to maintain a calm, polite manner. "You're certainly welcome. I'm glad to see you're doing so well." He turned toward Ron. "Do you remember Ron Weasley? He was also in the lake that day, and he helped me rescue you." Gabrielle turned to Ron and saw that he, at least, was not immune to her. She gave one last sad glance back at Harry, then decided to turn her efforts elsewhere for the time being.

As Gabrielle began to talk with Ron, who looked like he wouldn't be able to think coherently for a while, Harry looked around at the others. Fleur had greeted Viktor enthusiastically, and he had whispered something to her and moved her slightly away from the others to hurriedly inform her of their plan. Harry saw her nod and move away. He was impressed by how quickly she had caught on. As the group walked up toward the house, she smoothly moved among her relatives and had a brief word with each. This was a very capable witch! He was glad they had her on their side. Harry turned to where he knew Hermione was waiting under the invisibility cloak and nodded. As he turned back to the group Ginny moved up alongside of him.

"Pretty impressive Mr. Potter. How is it that you were unaffected by that little tart while my drooling brother can't string five words together?"

"Perhaps because I have someone else I'm thinking of." Harry responded with a sly look.

Ginny rewarded him with the brightest smile he had seen yet, and he couldn't resist grabbing her for a quick hug.

When the party had reached the house Molly came out and asked, "Is this everyone, then?"

"No, Fleur replied smoothly, my cousin Janelle will be here shortly." At this Hermione appeared with a small pop outside the apparition wards in long blonde hair and dark glasses, and hurried up to join the rest.

Harry grabbed Ginny's arm to hold her back briefly. "In case she looks familiar, that's Hermione," he said with a wink. "She's going to disguise herself as Fleur's cousin when we visit the ministry next week and we thought we'd try out the disguise on Fred and George first."

Harry noticed that he and Ginny were the only ones remaining outside and had an idea that perhaps they needed to check that some nearby bushes were trimmed properly. Ginny was delighted with that idea. Fortunately, no one noticed when they finally entered the house fifteen minutes later that Ginny's hair was considerably messier than it had been, or that she was happier than she had been all summer.

-----

The rest of the evening was an enjoyable time for everyone. Harry was able to spend time near Ginny, and Ginny was able to restrain herself from glaring at Gabrielle when the French girl attempted to engage Harry in a very friendly conversation before giving up and sulking away. Hermione performed beautifully as a Delacour. She was vivacious and charming and knew enough about France and French culture to pull it off. Fred and George were stumbling over each other to spend time with her and even Ron tried to hit on her before he remembered who she was. Harry decided that even more than the different hair, what made Hermione difficult for those who knew her to recognize was her attitude. No one expected Hermione to be having so much fun! Eventually Hermione attached herself to Viktor to discourage the twins' attention, and she and Viktor finished the evening talking with Harry and Ginny.

Harry had asked earlier where everyone was going to stay. Ron had replied that some of Fleur's relatives were going to stay at the Lovegoods or the Diggorys, but that all of the Weasley relatives would just apparate in on the day of the wedding. Charlie would be staying with Bill, and the twins already had their own place above their shop. Harry was startled briefly by the mention of the Diggorys. Now that he thought of it, he knew that they lived nearby because they had accompanied the Weasleys to the Quidditch World Cup. Picking up on what Harry was thinking, Arthur mentioned that Amos Diggory had never really recovered from the loss of his son. He had been one of the best managers at the Ministry and had been on track to eventually become Minister of Magic, but since that night he had just been going through the motions. Harry and Viktor decided that they would pay Amos a visit.

---------------

A/N I always thought Fleur was treated unfairly in HBP and in most fanfics. She _was_ a triwizard champion, so she must have been pretty capable. BTW, I snuck another nod to harmony shippers into this chapter.


	12. The Wedding

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Thanks to Old Crow and Dee (mrs. vanblundht) for their valuable input and encouragement with this chapter.

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**Chapter 12, The wedding**

Saturday, July 12

Everything about the wedding was beautiful. Harry couldn't believe how nice the Burrow garden looked. He wandered around looking for Ginny and finally found her alone in her room frowning into a mirror. He stopped and just stood and admired her for a while. Her bridesmaid robes were stunning, although Harry wondered if you could even call them robes. Harry noted with approval that Fleur had picked a light blue color that looked equally good on the red haired pale skinned Ginny and the platinum blonde even paler Gabrielle. They were sleeveless with a plunging neckline and a matching plunging back. And they fit her like a glove. Even though Ginny was petite, she still had curves in all the right places. Harry was mesmerized by her slender waist and had an urge to hold it in both hands. As he approached her from behind and put his hands around her waist, Ginny noticed him in the mirror and sighed and leaned back into him. He moved his hands to wrap her into a hug. As he looked over her shoulder he happened to glance down and gulped. His hug had caused Ginny's gown to shift and he had just had a delightful view. He quickly tore his eyes away and guiltily looked back up into the mirror to see if Ginny had noticed him getting a peek at her breasts. A thought briefly flitted across his mind that Ginny's breasts were somewhat smaller than Hermione's but were just right for her smaller frame. Ginny hadn't noticed his indiscretion and was mumbling something.

"… nothing like Fleur. Even Gabrielle fills hers out better than I do. I look like a boy."

Harry, who had just seen incontrovertible evidence that Ginny was anything but a boy, just shook his head. "This sounds like a conversation I had last month with Hermione." At her questioning look, he responded, "Ask her about it sometime."

Harry looked solemnly into the mirror into Ginny's eyes. "Ginny, from where I stand …" and here he deliberately dropped his gaze and then looked back up "I can absolutely state that you are most certainly a girl."

Ginny looked startled, then blushed furiously. She whirled around and hit him in the chest. "Harry, you are so … you are so … bad!" They both burst out laughing. Then Ginny composed herself and smiled shyly. "So, Harry, see anything you like?"

Harry looked her in the eye and said, "I like everything I see," and leaned in to kiss her.

Ginny held him back briefly, saying, "Just a little one, I can't smear my lipstick," then allowed him a quick kiss.

As she was about to leave, Harry turned serious. "Ginny, can you carry your wand in that? I want you to be ready for anything." Ginny moved some of the folds in the gown and revealed a slit up one side that extended halfway up her thigh. She reached in and withdrew her wand from a wand holder.

"Ron got these for the whole family. Although I imagine you paid for them." Harry nodded. Hermione had a similar one, along with her wrist holder. He supposed that she would be using the thigh holder today also. He gave Ginny a quick hug and she left to join the wedding party and he left to go back outside.

Since Ginny and Ron were in the bridal party, Harry would be sitting with Viktor and Hermione. He quickly found them and they mingled with the other guests. Hermione had a beautiful lavender gown with cap sleeves and a scoop neckline and back, but not as low cut as Ginny's. It also hugged her figure very well and both Harry and Viktor complimented her effusively on it. It occurred to Harry that the color would go equally well with the blonde hair that Hermione now had and her normal brunette hair. He noticed that Hermione couldn't stop smiling and questioned her about it with a raised eyebrow.

"Harry, I'm being escorted to a wedding by two of the most famous _and_ most eligible wizards in Europe!" she said in a French accent. "Any witch would kill to be where I am now!" Harry smiled back broadly. He was thrilled to see his friend so happy. He also asked her about her wand and she grinned at him as she parted her gown to show him the wand holder strapped to her thigh.

Harry noticed that the three of them were the recipients of many glances and quite a few outright stares, and he realized her comment about he and Viktor being famous was quite true. Many guests were very curious about the two famous wizards and the mysterious pretty (or so Harry thought) blonde girl. Very few of the guests actually approached them however. At Harry's questioning glance, Hermione leaned over and whispered, "It's a weak privacy charm Viktor just showed me. It discourages the curious. Viktor says all the international quidditch stars use it."

"That sure would have been useful last year," Harry muttered. Hermione merely nodded.

As Hermione moved away to briefly talk to Remus and Tonks (the only other guests who knew who she was), Harry had a thought. Turning to Viktor, he asked, "Do you think Hermione's pretty?"

Viktor gave him an odd look. "Who was the one who asked her to the Yule Ball two and a half years ago?" Seeing the understanding that appeared on Harry's face he continued, "I could have had nearly any girl at Hogwarts that year, don't you think?" After a slight pause he added, looking directly into Harry's eyes, "any girl except one."

Harry tried to stammer an apology, and explain yet again that he and Hermione were just friends, but Viktor merely waved him off. "You were only fourteen and she fifteen back then. Neither of you were ready for a true romantic relationship." He raised his eyebrows. "But now you are seventeen and she is nearly eighteen."

Harry tried again. "No, it's not like that, really …" _Why was everyone trying to match him up with Hermione?_

Viktor was clearly amused at Harry's discomfort. "Ah, but she has set her sights on the other member of the trio, no?"

"Well, sort of, but it didn't work out." Harry was uncomfortable talking about his friends' relationship.

Viktor had mercy on him and let him off the hook. "I know." To Harry's surprised look he explained, "We correspond regularly. Don't worry, a lifelong friendship is far more valuable than a temporary romance." Harry wasn't sure if Viktor was talking about himself, or Harry, or Ron and Hermione, or all of the above. Viktor looked as if he was going to say something else but at that moment Hermione returned.

"What are you two talking about so seriously?"

Harry looked guiltily at Viktor, but the Bulgarian wizard replied smoothly, "You, of course."

Hermione was taken aback momentarily, and Harry decided that Viktor's direct approach was the way to go. "We were talking about friendship." As Hermione relaxed Harry couldn't help adding, "and how pretty you look." They were rewarded by a blush and a smile, then Hermione gave each of them a quick hug.

Harry took the opportunity to study the other wedding guests. He saw several Order members that he knew, and nearly all were accompanied by a date. Hermione had told him that that was traditional for a wedding. Kingsley Shacklebolt was present with a very pretty witch who clung to him so closely that she seemed intent on sharing his robes with him. Hestia Jones was accompanied by a nervous looking wizard and Hestia kept giving him shy glances, leading Harry to conclude that it might be a first date for them.

Harry also noticed that most of the witches were wearing robes that were as revealing or even more so than the ones Ginny and Hermione were wearing. All had their arms bare, and quite a few were cut low in the front, although not many had a plunging neckline like Ginny and Gabrielle's. Nearly all had a low scooped back, and some were halter style with virtually no back at all. With a mischievous grin he moved close to Hermione and put his hand on her bare back. As she looked up at him he leaned over and asked, "Is there some rule about witches not wearing a bra to a wedding?"

Hermione choked and tried to glare at him, but couldn't keep the smile off her face. "Nice to see you being so observant, Potter. Constant Vigilance, right?" She smirked at him while he attempted to keep an innocent look on his face. "It's interesting, isn't it? Normally we wear these robes that cover us completely, but on certain occasions it's open season to show as much skin as possible. To those of us who grew up in the muggle world, wizarding society sometimes seems very strange. Harry silently agreed, thinking of the tank tops that Hermione wore during the summer, and the look of disapproval she had gotten from Mrs. Weasley over the way she was dressed yesterday morning. Then, with a smirk that Harry just knew meant she was about to get him back, Hermione added, "Besides, witches don't need to wear bras."

As she knew he would, Harry turned red as that statement started his thoughts going in interesting directions. As soon as she could see that she had his attention again she explained. "There are temporary glamour spells that can keep things in place. Wait until you see Fleur's gown. Without magic there would be no way it would stay up."

Looking up, they saw Professor McGonagall approaching. "Good afternoon Mr. Potter. I had hoped to find you here today. I had also hoped to talk with Miss Granger, but I don't see her. Is it true that she is out of the country for the summer?"

"That's the story, yes," replied Harry with an odd look on his face. McGonagall thought that was a strange statement, but turned to the other two. "Good afternoon Mr. Krum. It's good to see you again. Perhaps the two of you could introduce me to this charming lady?"

The odd look on Harry's face had turned into a grin. "This is Fleur's cousin, Janelle Delacour."

Hermione held out her hand and said with a heavy accent, "I'm so pleased to meet you …" then switched to her normal voice, "Professor McGonagall."

The expression on the normally perfectly composed face of Professor McGonagall was priceless.

"Oh … oh my …Herm … I mean, Miss Granger!" The three were not completely successful in stifling their laughs as the flustered new headmistress tried to recover. Then she smiled at Harry and Hermione before resuming her usual stern expression. "You have been quite difficult to contact this summer, Mr. Potter." Harry gave a simple acknowledgement, unwilling for now to reveal anything. McGonagall noticed his reluctance but pressed on. "I have some important things to discuss with both of you. Would we be able to meet sometime soon?"

"Actually, we needed to come to Hogwarts on an important task of our own," said Harry evenly. He did not want to talk to McGonagall about his decision not to return to Hogwarts here at the wedding. "Could we come for a visit later this month?" McGonagall clearly was not satisfied with the lack of information, but agreed to wait until later, and indicated that the week of July 21st would be satisfactory.

With that, they noticed that the ceremony was about to start and they took their places in the audience. Charlie was the best man. Ordinarily Percy would have been the other groomsman, but his absence required another brother to fill that role. Since it was hard to choose between the twins (and no one was sure they trusted either of them to behave) Bill had picked Ron to step in. Harry privately thought that Bill was quite smart and considerate as well. Without making it look like he was singling him out, he had elevated Ron into an important part of the wedding, a gesture that would help the ego of the often overlooked brother.

Since Gabrielle was the maid of honor, she was paired with Charlie and Ron was paired with Ginny. It was an interesting pair; two redheads with the six foot two inch Ron towering over the five foot two inch Ginny. Ron, though, barely gave Ginny a glance. His attention was riveted on Gabrielle throughout the ceremony. Harry noticed where Ron's attention was focused and tried to surreptitiously glance at Hermione to see if she noticed. She had, and her eyes flickered from Ron back to Harry. He gave her a shrug and she just rolled her eyes and shook her head. Unnoticed by either of them, Viktor watched their nonverbal exchange thoughtfully.

As the wedding moved toward its conclusion Harry became more and more nervous. This was the time when he expected an attack if there was going to be one, and while he hoped that the capture of Pettigrew the previous day might have derailed the Death Eaters' plans, he wasn't counting on it. He noted that Hermione and Viktor were alert as well, and was aware that a large number of Aurors were stationed inconspicuously around the edge of the garden.

Just as the ceremony ended and Harry was hoping that his worries were unfounded, he felt a chill in the air. Unbeknownst to Harry, he had disrupted Voldemort's plans somewhat. Without the intelligence provided by Wormtail, Voldemort decided not to risk sending Death Eaters into an unknown situation. Not wanting to pass up the opportunity to spread misery on a happy occasion, he dispatched a large group of dementors instead.

Immediately recognizing the feeling, Harry stood and cried out, "Expecto Patronum!" sending off a large silver stag. While most of the guests looked around at him in astonishment, he noted with satisfaction that Hermione and Viktor were nearly as quick as he was to cast their own patroni, and Remus and Tonks, several other Order members, and some of the Aurors were right behind them. He was surprised to see that Bill and Fleur were almost as quick to pull out their own wands and cast their patroni; up near the front Charlie, Fred, and George did as well. Unfortunately, many of the guests had never mastered the complex charm and panic ensued. The dementors were still gliding toward the reinforced anti-apparation wards, which Harry unhappily realized would have no effect on them, when the first wave of patroni attacked them.

For awhile it looked as if they would be driven back, but these dementors were much more persistent than any Harry had faced before. And there were many more of them than there were patroni. Nearly everyone was screaming now, with some starting to pass out, and the Burrow was surrounded. Harry looked at Hermione and impulsively grabbed her hand. They had been through too much together to fail now.

"Expecto Patronum!" Harry sent off another stag and almost passed out. Through his dimming consciousness it appeared that this one was different than usual. It was larger than any he had ever produced and had an iridescent sheen instead of the normal silver color.

"Harry!" Hermione screamed. "You can't cast more than one at a time! You have to wait until the first one fades." She grabbed him and helped him to a chair. As he came to she looked at his second patronus flying off. It was clearly more powerful than his normal one and dementors were scattering from it. She quickly turned back to him again. "What did you do? Why is that one different?"

Harry tried to gather his thoughts. "I don't know, I was holding your hand and thinking about how much you meant to me and that I couldn't bear to lose that."

"Harry, hold my hand again. I'm going to cast another one as soon as my first one fades."

The dementors, despite the determined efforts of the first wave of patroni, were now moving past the barriers and the original patroni were beginning to fade. The screaming was almost overwhelming. Harry noted that the Weasleys formed a solid group that was holding its own near the front, and that there was a group of Aurors and Order members on each side that were calmly resisting, but nearly everyone else had succumbed to panic.

"Expecto Patronum!" A large otter with a similar iridescent sheen flew from Hermione's wand and hurried out to join Harry's stag. "Harry, we've got to tell the others about this!" Hermione ran off toward Remus and Tonks, and Harry hurried toward the front of the crowd where the Weasleys were huddled.

As he approached, Ginny hurtled into his arms crying, "Harry, I can't get it to work!"

Harry pushed her away a little and grabbed her hand and shouted, "Ginny, try it again while I hold your hand. Think of the first time we kissed."

Ginny blushed, then got a determined look on her face and cried, "Expecto Patronum!" A large silver cat leaped from her wand and dashed off toward the dementors. "Harry, I did it! I did it!" Ginny was jumping up and down with delight but Harry pulled her toward the other Weasleys.

"Bill and Fleur!" he called out. "Hold each others hands and try it again as soon as your first ones fade. Think about how much you love each other!" Without questioning him Bill and Fleur turned to face the oncoming dementors and simultaneously cast again. The biggest, brightest patroni Harry had ever seen flew from their wands, glistening with an ever changing spectrum of pale colors. Harry did a double take. Bill's was a lion and Fleur's was a tiger. Did people really think these two weren't compatible? Looking around, Harry called to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley to do the same. They grabbed each other's hands and turned and produced yet another pair of the shimmering multi-hued patroni. As they cast their spells, Harry noticed that his and Hermione's patroni were attacking a dementor together. To his amazement, when they hit it the dementor vanished with a flash! He turned to Bill and Fleur again.

"Bill, Fleur can you direct yours? Try to get them to attack together."

Hermione had been hurrying back to him and had noticed the same phenomenon. "Harry, did you see that! I think we killed one! And these new ones aren't fading as quickly as the others." Harry nodded and Hermione rushed back to relay the news to Remus and Tonks, while he ran to another group of Aurors and Order members.

Harry raced up to a group that included Kingsley and Hestia and explained quickly. The pretty witch that had been clinging to Kingsley before was now literally wrapped in his robes shaking like a leaf. With surprising tenderness, the large black Auror took hold of her hand and cast the charm. Hestia's date had collapsed to the ground already and she was standing over him protectively, determined to keep him safe. She reached down and clasped his hand and soon another glittering patronus was racing out to join Kingsley's

As Harry turned, he caught the eye of Mrs. Longbottom who was with Neville a short distance away. She was calmly directing her patronus at the dementors, keeping them away from her area, while Neville determinedly tried to cast one of his own. He was close, but still getting only formless vapor. As Mrs. Longbottom met Harry's eyes, he felt a questioning probe touch his mind. He immediately pushed the necessary information to the front of his mind, past his mental barriers and she nodded and turned to Neville. Grasping his hand and smiling at the puzzled look on his face, she made a quick motion with her wand to dispel her current patronus and instantly cast another. A giant iridescent bird of prey flew from her wand. She quietly communicated with her grandson. Neville tried again and was rewarded as a large silver bulldog burst forth and raced growling toward the nearest dementors.

As Harry and Hermione ran about spreading the information among the beleaguered wedding group, couples paired off and begin to create more of the sparkling patroni. By holding the hand of a loved one, wizards and witches who had never been able to summon a patronus were able to create a large silver one, and those who were ordinarily able to summon a normal one were able to create an enormous iridescent one. Each time a pair of the powerful glistening patroni attacked a dementor, it vanished in a bright flash. And this new variety refused to fade as long as there were other dementors to attack.

The tide inexorably turned against the dementors and they were forced further and further away from the terrified crowd. When half of their original number had been destroyed, the remainder fled. And because the initial contact with the dementors had been made so far out from the crowd, not a single one had been able to get close enough to administer a kiss.

They had turned back a horde of nearly 100 dementors with no casualties!

Many people were quite shaken up, and liberal quantities of chocolate were distributed. While quite a few of the guests were no longer in the mood for a wedding celebration, and took their leave, Molly was determined to go on with the party. The remaining guests, including everyone who had been able to summon a patronus, were eager to get back to the festivities. The exhilaration provided by the powerful happy feelings embodied in the patroni, for them more than offset the misery created by the dementors.

Fred and George reverted to type, livening up the crowd with a memorable prank that temporarily vanished Fleur's skirt while she and Bill were dancing the first dance. Fleur's retaliatory hex brought a roar of approval when it caused Fred and George to double over in pain and squeak in unnaturally high voices for the next hour. On reflection, the twins decided that they had gotten off easy when Charlie described for them the nasty ancient Egyptian curse that Bill had been about to hit them with.

Harry impishly informed Hermione that he had decided to continue his careful observation of witch wedding garb, ducking her retaliatory swat at his head, and later another by Ginny after Hermione told the redhead of his interesting new study. They each relented when Harry agreed to dance with them. His initial apprehension with that activity was quickly alleviated when he realized that it was a most pleasant opportunity to focus his attention on a very attractive witch. Dancing with Ginny or Hermione in his arms, particularly with the way they were attired, was a much more enjoyable experience than anything he remembered from the Yule Ball. It was a struggle to not hold Ginny too close, as there was a strong urge for her to snuggle tightly to him. Ron resumed his fascination with Gabrielle, and was unfortunately too distracted to dodge the resulting whacks to the head from his sister as successfully as Harry had.

As they compared notes while dancing, Hermione informed Harry with some satisfaction that she had helped Ron to create a normal patronus, but that she had helped Viktor to create only a larger than normal silver patronus, not the more powerful kind. She was delighted to hear that Harry had helped Ginny to create a large silver patronus. Harry had not thought to try with anyone else.

When Ginny found out what it meant that Harry had helped her create her patronus, she was ecstatic. It was all she could do to refrain from tackling him right in front of everyone and snogging his brains out. Fred and George swore Harry to secrecy before they revealed to him that they had combined to create a pair of iridescent patroni.

For the first time that summer, Harry was in high spirits and hopeful for the future. They had discovered a key weapon to use against Voldemort, and the best thing was that many ordinary families would be able to wield it.

-----

As they later relaxed under the stars before turning in for the night, Viktor turned to Harry and smirked, "I don't think we'll have any trouble getting in to see the Minister of Magic after this. You should think about what else you want from him. He should be ready to give you anything you ask for."

At this point Hermione came up to them and flopped down on the ground beside Harry. "I just finished writing up a report for our meeting with the ministry on the battle with the dementors," she said excitedly. I included detailed descriptions of the patroni, the effects on the dementors, the conditions under which they could be conjured …" she noticed that Harry was grinning at Viktor. "What?"

Harry just shook his head. No one but Hermione could get so excited over writing a report! "Don't ever change, Hermione, don't ever change," he told her as he pulled her into a big hug.

"Oh," she quickly retorted in her French accent, "so you really do prefer blondes?" They all laughed.

They looked up to see Ron and Ginny approaching, their wedding duties finally concluded. Hermione smoothly disengaged from Harry's hug, got up and moved to the other side of him, squeezing in between him and Viktor, wiggling slightly to carve out enough space between them. Viktor grinned at her and Harry smiled his appreciation as Ginny moved into the space beside him that she had vacated. If she had been bothered by seeing him hug Hermione she didn't show it. He wondered if Ron would have a problem with Hermione's actions, but when he looked he saw Ron sit down in front of Viktor and begin talking to him, apparently unconcerned. Checking to see that they were alone, he put his arm around Ginny and she snuggled up against him. He relaxed again, thanking the stars that they could have at least one more peaceful night together.

-----

"Hermione?"

"Yes, Ginny?"

"Are you in love with Harry?"

It had been a long day. Bill and Fleur's wedding would have been big enough in its own right, but they had also made the incredible discovery that would enable them to destroy dementors. Hermione and Ginny had finally gone to bed, but neither of them was calmed down enough to go to sleep just yet.

"I love Harry. But I'm not _in love_ with Harry." Hermione was not surprised by this question. She had almost been expecting it. Now was as good a time as any.

"You said that before, but I'm not sure I understand. You said you love him like a brother, but he's not really your brother."

"I know. It's an expression we use to try to describe how we feel about each other. It's a different kind of love." Hermione tried to think of a way to explain it to the younger witch. She also needed to clarify what Ginny's feelings truly were.

"Ginny, in spite of what you read in some books, there's more to love than jealousy and snogging. In fact, that doesn't have much to do with real love at all. Love means caring about someone, doing things for him, trusting him enough to share your innermost thoughts with him. Wanting what's best for him even if it's not necessarily what you'd like for yourself. Here's my favorite description of love:

'Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful. It is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way. It is not irritable or resentful. It does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.'"

Hermione continued, "There are different kinds of love. Love of a parent for a child, the love between two best friends, romantic love. But they all have those things in common. When you combine that with physical attraction, the kind of tingly feeling you get deep inside for someone, you have true romantic love. That's what you mean when you say you're _in love_ with someone. Harry and I don't have those tingly feelings for each other, but we love each other."

Ginny paused to think about what Hermione had just said. "That sounds pretty hard to do. You make it sound like love doesn't include jealousy. But I thought if you were in love with someone you'd be jealous if he were with someone else."

"I know it's hard to do," Hermione admitted, "but if you truly loved someone, you'd want what was best for him even if it didn't include you. One of the greatest novels in English literature has a character who loves a woman, but she's in love with another man. The other man is sentenced to be executed. The first man substitutes himself for the other man and dies in his place, so the woman he loves can be with the man she loves. He says, 'It is a far better thing that I do than I have ever done.'"

"I don't think I could do that."

"I know. Not many people can. That's the ultimate in love. But people often give their lives for their loved ones. Harry's often risked his life to save someone, or do something he thought was right. That's love. Professor Dumbledore said it was his greatest strength, and the thing that would enable him to defeat Voldemort." Hermione suddenly realized that she had said too much here, and tried to recover, "I mean, his mother loved him enough to give her life trying to save him, and that's what destroyed Voldemort."

Ginny guessed that there was more to what Hermione had said, but chose to let it go. "You called it his 'saving people thing'".

"You're right," Hermione sighed. "It's one of the things that make him who he is, but he doesn't care about his own safety. While he's been saving everyone else, I've been trying to keep _him_ alive." She paused. "You and I are both alive because of that 'saving people thing' so I'm not exactly complaining."

Ginny nodded. She had of course heard the story about the troll during the trio's first year and she certainly didn't need reminding about _her_ first year. She wondered if there had been other times that Harry had saved Hermione's life as well.

Hermione asked quietly, "Do you think you are in love with Harry?"

Ginny responded just as quietly. "I thought I was. I want to be, but we don't have the kind of relationship you just talked about. There are a lot of things he shares with you that he's keeping from me aren't there?"

Hermione didn't respond, but she didn't need to. Both girls knew that what Ginny had said was true.

"But we're so good together!" Ginny protested. "I know he likes being with me, and when he kisses me it makes my toes curl. Isn't that love?"

"Ginny, don't you want more from a relationship than, for example, what Ron and Lavender had?" Clearly that relationship still rankled Hermione, despite her vow to get over Ron.

"Hermione, just because you've never had a physical relationship, doesn't mean there's something wrong with them," Ginny snapped, the famous Weasley temper escaping briefly. "Not all of us just want long intellectual discussions with our boyfriends."

Hermione didn't say anything in response, willing herself to stay calm. Ginny's comment had hit a sore spot, but this wasn't the time to dwell on that. It was certainly true that Ginny had much more experience with the physical side of relationships than she had. She had grown tired of hearing Ginny extol Dean's physical attributes to her during the last year. It occurred to her that it would be awkward if Ginny started the same commentary on Harry's physical qualities, especially since she was already quite familiar with Harry's physique from their times at the swimming pool and their workouts. She thought uneasily that it was probably not a good idea to be a confidante for both parties in a relationship.

Ginny immediately regretted what she had said. "Hermione, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way."

"I know Ginny. I just think that if people are really in love they should have both the emotional expressions of love as well as the physical."

"But Hermione, the only one Harry opens up with is you."

Hermione decided she should say something encouraging. "True, but you've certainly made more progress in the physical area than any other witch has. Did you know he only kissed Cho once?"

Ginny was _very_ happy to hear that, but pressed on. "See what I mean? Who else would he tell that to besides you? It sounds like if you put you and me together we'd have the perfect soul mate for Harry!"

Hermione smiled, but inwardly mused that even though Ginny had meant that to be humorous, she was closer to the mark than she realized. Harry was clearly trying to compartmentalize his relationships. He was unwilling to offer all of himself to any single person.

"I just want him to fall in love with me so much. I've dreamed of him loving me for so long," Ginny sighed.

Hermione was reluctant to ask her next question, but knew it needed to be asked. "Ginny, do you want to fall in love with Harry or with The Boy Who Lived?"

Ginny looked surprised at this question. "How can you separate them? That's who Harry is. Hermione, you might not be able to understand this because you didn't grow up in the wizarding world but every wizard child of our generation has been hearing about The Boy Who Lived all their lives. I'm not the only girl who fantasized about him while growing up. They even made Harry Potter dolls! Yes, I had one," she added before Hermione could ask. "Have you ever looked in the lower years girls' dorms? There are Harry Potter posters all over the walls!"

"I know. Lavender and Parvati both put one up first year after he made the quidditch team. Please don't ever tell Harry that."

"When I found out that my brother was the best friend of The Boy Who Lived I thought all my dreams would come true. I had so many fantasies that year about him. And then I turned into a total idiot whenever he was around, and he ignored me my whole first year. But in the end he rescued me when I was a damsel in distress just like in a fairy tale. How could I _not_ think of him as a hero?"

"Ginny, listen to me. You have to separate them. Treating Harry as a just a hero will drive him away faster than you can blink. You saw how he reacted to those fan girls this year. You can't just look at Harry as your knight in shining armor. I know it's hard for you because he almost literally did slay the dragon and rescue you your first year. But he absolutely hates being treated that way. You have to see Harry as a person who tries his best to do what's right, but makes mistakes and feels terrible about it, who doubts himself and cries when he thinks he's failed someone. In other words, he's a real person with strengths and faults just like anyone else."

"But he is a hero. He's always trying to save people. He had that vision about my dad that saved his life. You know what he went through to try to save Sirius. And what about the way he formed the DA and taught us all that stuff last year. Everyone looked up to him _so_ much then."

"Well, it took quite a lot of convincing from Ron and me to talk him into that. But you're right. He's always doing heroic things. But he actually doesn't see himself as anything special. He just wants to do the right thing. Trust me, he hates being thought of as a hero."

"But … that's why I love him."

"Oh Ginny, there's so much more to Harry than that. Think of the things that make him act the way he does. How nice and considerate he is. He's brave and loyal, which makes him do heroic things, but focus on the things you like about him, not just that he's a hero. If he was a hero but a total jerk, you wouldn't want to fall in love with him, right?"

"You're right. I guess I just have to think about it differently. I know there's a lot about Harry that I like. He was nice to me even when I was a stupid annoying kid sister.

"Ginny, you need to know this. When Harry broke up with you after Dumbledore's funeral, you said something that shook him up. You said you knew he wouldn't be happy unless he was hunting Voldemort and that's what you liked about him. Don't ever say anything like that again. He hates that he has to go after Voldemort. He would love nothing better than to be able to forget about this whole 'Chosen One' thing and live like a normal person."

"Why does he do it then? Hermione, you don't mean that he really _is_ the Chosen One and is destined to face You-Know-Who? Hermione, is he going to die?"

Hermione was silent for an uncomfortably long time, but Ginny heard her mutter, "Not if I can help it." Finally she said, "I can't tell you that Ginny. That's Harry's story to tell."

Ginny was fighting to hold back tears. She knew that there was a lot that Hermione couldn't tell her, that Harry had been keeping from her. He obviously didn't trust her as much as he did Hermione. In a small voice she asked, "So you don't think Harry is in love with me?"

"Not yet," Hermione conceded, but she wanted to encourage Ginny so she continued, "but I think there's a good chance. He needs to open up to you and share the things that he's keeping back. He needs to trust you with his whole heart, not just the physical part of it. I've been trying to tell him to do that. And you need to see him as a real person who wants to be loved for who he actually is, not someone's image of him. I know you'd be good for him Ginny and I want him to be happy so much …" Hermione had to stop because she had started to cry.

"You really love him, don't you?"

"Yes," Hermione managed between the tears.

"So you really don't want him for yourself?"

Hermione wiped the tears from her face on the pillow and replied in a voice so soft that Ginny could barely hear it. "He's my very best friend Ginny. I'm happy that he's part of my life and that's all I want."

They were both quiet after that, and soon fell asleep.

---------------

A/N The idea for the special kind of patronus was partly inspired by Old Crow's 'The Four Apprentices'. In that story when Harry and someone he loves cast the patronus charm together the resulting patroni are able to destroy dementors.

BTW, how many fanfics have you read that manage to quote the Bible and Charles Dickens in the same chapter?


	13. Reflections

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Thanks to Dee (mrs. vanblundht) for prereading this chapter (and for the title).

---------------

**Chapter 13, Reflections**

Wednesday, July 16

It was a cloudy morning as four people silently walked down the lane away from the Burrow, each lost in their own thoughts. Two people watched from the house, one from the kitchen and one from an upstairs bedroom, also silently, also pondering.

Molly Weasley's thoughts swirled back and forth among the children. Her son Ron had changed so much this summer, most especially in the past week. Ever since the beginning of the summer he had become more responsible, getting a job with the twins, making decisions, even studying for goodness sake! She was somewhat uncomfortable about some of those decisions, but proud that he was becoming a mature young man. His self-confidence, always his weakness in the past, had blossomed. While she was happy to see this, she couldn't help worrying about what had caused it. Had the death of Albus Dumbledore affected him so much? She was aware that he had occasionally gone to meet Harry for training with Remus and Tonks, and Neville's frequent visits were obviously part of some sort of training also. And now they seemed to be pulling Ginny into whatever was going on. She was not happy about that at all, and her efforts to find out what was happening had come up empty. Ron was of age now, and she had to allow him to start making his own decisions, however much she disagreed with them, but Ginny was not and she wanted to hold on to her only daughter as long as she could.

But Ron. Something had happened on the day that Harry and Hermione had arrived at the Burrow. Perhaps the capture of that awful rat Pettigrew, but she didn't think that was it. Whatever it was, Ron's awkwardness and insecurities had seemed to disappear. He was even able to interact with that Viktor Krum and seemed to treat him as a friend. She knew that just a month ago he would have been reduced to a stuttering mess in the presence of the international quidditch star. But yesterday, the way he had told her, not asked her mind you but told her, that he was going with Harry and Hermione had stunned her into silence, a most unusual state for Molly Weasley.

Harry and Hermione. Somehow everything about Ron always seemed to come down to those two.

Hermione Granger was a girl that Molly had never been able to understand. Maybe it was just because she was a muggleborn. But muggleborn or not, what kind of girl spent all of her time with two boys and never seemed to have any friends who were girls? Sure, she was friends with Ginny, but Molly was sure that was only because of Harry and Ron. The two had met on the train to Hogwarts during Ginny's first year, drawn together by their mutual concern about the missing boys who hadn't made it to the train. No, concern was too mild of a word for that episode. They had both been frantic.

But still, Hermione was a puzzle to Molly. For a while she had been certain that the girl was after Harry as more than a friend, and the events of the triwizard tournament had seemed to bear that out. Molly's protective mother instincts, which Harry triggered constantly, had kicked in with a vengeance when she read that Hermione had broken Harry's heart by taking up with Viktor Krum. Sure, the quidditch star was quite a catch, but how could she do that to Harry? Harry's reassurances that she had never been his girlfriend, and that he was comfortable with Hermione's relationship with Krum had not completely convinced her. And the following summer had seemed to confirm her suspicions. Hermione had spent a good part of the summer at Grimmauld Place and had driven her to distraction by her constant questions about Harry, suggestions about Harry, worrying about Harry, and overall obsession with Harry Potter. Clearly her feelings about Harry went far beyond normal friendship.

But something had happened that following school year. From her children she had heard that Harry had fallen for a pretty girl named Cho Chang. And apparently Hermione had fallen for Ron. Last summer it had been obvious to Molly, but not to her clueless son, that Hermione was now interested in starting something with him. Sure, she was still concerned with Harry's welfare, they all were after the tragedy in which poor Harry had lost his godfather, but the little signs that a girl is interested in a guy, and the subtle signals that she sends toward him, all pointed to Hermione pursuing Ron. Apparently that had not worked out for the girl. At the Christmas holiday it was clear that it had been another girl, Lavender Brown, who had captured Ron's attention. From what Ginny had told her it had been quite a public display of affection that had announced the new couple to Gryffindor tower, and Hermione had not taken rejection well. Fortunately they all still seemed to be friends now.

Now. What on earth was happening now? Hermione seemed to be back with Harry! The way she was dressed when they arrived at the Burrow Friday made it clear that she was throwing herself at the boy. It was disgusting how much that clothing revealed. And did she hear that they were living together? What could her parents be thinking? Well, she certainly seemed to have gotten over Ron! She had to admit that there had been no obvious hugging, kissing, or other overt signs of affection between the two since they had arrived, but it was clear that she only had eyes for him. And what about poor Ginny?

Molly sighed to herself. Ginny she understood all too well. Her Ginny had had a thing for Harry Potter since the day she first saw him, even before she first saw him actually. So much so that the normally talkative, vivacious girl had been rendered speechless when Harry visited, even fleeing from the room he was in. It had taken years for her to be able to act normally around him, so taken with him was she. Of course, it hadn't helped that Harry was every bit the knight in shining armor that Ginny had fantasized about growing up, going down into that awful chamber to rescue her. Molly shuddered at that memory. She had thought that they would never see Ginny again, and then Harry had burst into the room leading a sobbing Ginny back to them. She had wanted to hold onto Ginny and never let her go again.

But after that episode, Harry had gone back to ignoring Ginny. She couldn't really blame him, as he seemed to constantly be in danger for his life. She had never heard of anyone who had as many bad things happen to him. But Ginny hadn't given up. Molly had approved of Ginny's strategy of going out with other boys. That was the way to do it, get him jealous of her. It hadn't seemed to work, though, at least at first. Even though Harry had spent more than a month at the Burrow last summer, he still didn't seem to notice Ginny. But Ginny's patience had finally paid off. Molly wondered if she had finally resorted to a love potion. She wouldn't have blamed her; she had been ready to slip one to Arthur if he hadn't finally noticed her. She had much the same trouble with Arthur when they were in school as Ginny had with Harry. She had had a crush on him for years before he noticed her. He had been as oblivious as Harry. OK, maybe not that oblivious. She had finally taken matters into her own hands and cornered him in an empty corridor one night.

She wondered what had finally worked for Ginny. She _had_ spent quite a bit of time looking at Fred and George's love potions during that trip to Diagon Alley last summer. Oh well, whatever it takes to get a guy. She would certainly never tell. Love potions only gave a guy that initial push, if there was nothing there after they wore off nothing came of them. Come to think of it, they'd mentioned that someone had given Ron a love potion last year. Had it been Hermione? Since the twins had left Hogwarts she had not been hearing as much about what went on there. Her two children had never told her the details, but he'd broken up with Lavender shortly after that. Whatever, it hadn't worked for Hermione, since Ron clearly wasn't interested in her now.

But Ginny had finally caught Harry. Molly had been so excited when she got that owl. It was all she could do to keep herself from planning the wedding. Ginny had been in heaven. She had written about how she had raced across the common room and leapt into his arms, and then he had actually kissed her! Then he had taken her for a long walk around the lake, and they had been together the rest of the year. Molly sighed to herself again. Harry was such a nice boy. He would be perfect for Ginny. He did tend to get into danger a lot, but they could fix that.

Who was she trying to kid? There was no way to keep Harry out of danger. And after only a few weeks he had broken up with Ginny, apparently for her own good, to keep her safe. At least that was what they had told her. Molly still had her suspicions that Hermione had something to do with it. Ginny has said that she was OK with it, but Molly could tell she wasn't really. And that shouting episode this morning had certainly shown something. There was no way Molly was going to let Ginny go off with those three to Godric's Hollow, no matter how safe Remus said it would be. Ginny had been in a bad temper, but when Harry had agreed with Molly the shouting had turned to tears and she had fled to her room. The look the two had exchanged seemed to indicate that there was definitely still something between them. And there had been something going on the day Harry and Hermione had arrived at the Burrow. Harry and Ginny had been hugging quite closely when Molly looked out the window, but then seemed to stay at arms length the rest of the weekend. She saw the looks they exchanged when they thought no one was watching though. Molly was so confused. Which one was it Harry, Ginny or Hermione?

Harry. Somehow everything always came down to Harry Potter. Molly had wanted to take him into a crushing hug every time she saw him, ever since the first time at Platform 9 3/4. But she had to admit that the lost little boy at the train station was no more. Harry had changed, even more so than Ron. The way he had taken charge of the situation with Pettigrew, and with the security for the wedding, and at the attack by the dementors, and so on and so on. The nearly seventeen year old boy was becoming a leader. And he was up to something with Hermione and Ron, she was sure of it. From the time he had disappeared at the train station it was clear that something was going on. Who was watching out for him, now that Dumbledore was gone? Sure, Remus and Tonks were supposed to be his official guardians now, and they had assured the remnants of the Order that things were OK, but really, neither of them had ever had children. How could they give him the mother's love he needed?

She shuddered at these thoughts. Harry was just too young to be doing these things. But then, he had been doing these things for six years. The difference was, now he was making the decisions instead of letting things happen to him. She desperately hoped that it would turn out all right.

-----

Remus Lupin's thoughts were much more focused than Molly's, focused solely on the task at hand. He was not looking forward to this visit to Godric's Hollow but he knew it was something he had to do for Harry. It brought back horrible memories of distrust and betrayal that tended to overwhelm the more pleasant memories of a happier time, when his friends Lily and James had just been married and were expecting their first child, when that child had been born and the times he and Sirius had spent with baby Harry in the small but comfortable cottage. Even after they had gone into hiding and the Fidelius charm had been cast, visits to his friends had been happy ones.

Right up until that awful night, when his world had ended. He had given in to despair and wandered around from place to place, barely existing, until Dumbledore had rescued him twelve years later, and Harry Potter had come back into his life. Now he had dedicated himself to doing whatever he could for the boy who was his last remaining link to his former life, even if that meant taking him to see a place which Remus never wanted to be reminded of again. He had not had a portkey made, since the location was still a closely guarded secret, so he had planned to double apparate the three of them, one at a time. He looked at his companions and noticed that they were as deeply lost in thought as he had been.

-----

Ron Weasley had a couple more things on his mind than Remus did. He actually wasn't too concerned with this trip to Harry's old house. He was just going along to be with Harry. No, he was thinking about two other events this morning.

The visit to Amos Diggory on Sunday had been eye-opening for Ron, both for what had happened and what had not. First of all, Harry had decided that it should be himself, Ron, and Krum to make the visit, leaving Hermione behind. Ron had braced himself for a battle about that, and was astounded when Hermione merely accepted the decision. Since when did Hermione not want to come along on everything Harry did? Since when did Harry make decisions that Hermione did not immediately challenge? Sure, he had then explained his thinking, and it made sense, but still, what was going on? Clearly the relationship between Harry and Hermione had changed in the last month. She actually trusted him to make the right decision. And he trusted that she would accept it. And she accepted it, knowing that he would explain it to her satisfaction. And since when did Harry explain what he was thinking without being asked? Suddenly, Ron had realized that the two of them had moved on to another level of trust and communication, and he felt left behind.

The surprises continued when they arrived at the Diggory residence. It was clear that Ron had been along to make introductions, since he had known the Diggorys all his life. Then he faded into the background and observed closely. As he thought about it now, he realized that he had changed too, that he now had the patience and maturity to sit back and observe a situation without immediately reacting. That had always been important in his chess matches, but now he was able to apply it to his life.

Krum had initially taken control of the meeting, knowing that Harry was not comfortable with strangers and drawing on his much greater experience dealing with people from his years in the public eye. But it was clear from the beginning that he was deferring to Harry, and gradually Harry took charge. Eventually, Diggory was deferring to Harry as well. Again, this was a new Harry Potter for Ron. And throughout, Krum had treated Ron as an equal. The whole experience was enlightening, and Ron began to see that the battle against Voldemort had a new leader.

When Ron finally heard Harry and Krum explain the plan, he was stunned. As a pureblood wizard, never knowing anything other than wizard life, hearing what Harry had to say about the Improper Use of Magic Office was astounding. He wondered if it had been Harry or Hermione who had come up with this plan. He was sure that it had never occurred to anyone at the Ministry to use that office to hunt Death Eaters. They were much too set in their ways to think of something like that. It was the Improper Use of Magic Office's job to keep underage wizards (underage muggleborn wizards, Ron now realized) under control and it was the Aurors' job to hunt down wrongdoers and that was just the way it was.

The way they got Amos Diggory on their side was also eye-opening. Having first Krum, then Harry talk about how much they admired Cedric, about his bravery and courage and loyalty, and about his deep sense of honor raised the poor man's spirits tremendously. And then when they told him that they needed his help he sat right up. He now had something to live for, a way to strike back at Voldemort for the pain he had caused him, and the task they asked of him required the exact skills that he possessed.

The other thing on Ron's mind was his conversation with Hermione last night. Hermione had evidently been 'encouraging' (Ron would have said 'nagging') Harry to talk to Ginny, and he had turned the tables on her in suggesting that she also needed to talk to Ron. Ron had been dreading this conversation, trying desperately to think of a way to tell one of his best friends that he just wasn't interested in her in a romantic way.

It had been easier than he had expected. Hermione did most of the talking, and while they were both embarrassed and couldn't look each other in the eye while she was confessing her attraction to him, the worst part soon passed. Both agreed that they wanted to stay friends and that they still cared for each other very much. Although the thought crossed his mind, Ron showed uncommon wisdom by not mentioning that if she wore her hair in the long wavy blonde look all the time he might reconsider.

Today, as they were walking down the lane, he glanced over at her several times. He remembered the conversation the other day with Harry about whether he thought Hermione was pretty. Now that he looked more closely, he conceded to himself that she wasn't bad looking at all. He didn't know why he'd never thought in those terms, but he hadn't. Obviously Harry had, though. He found himself wondering why Harry had never shown any romantic interest in Hermione. He certainly got on better with her than Ron did. Come to think of it, he never would have become friends with Hermione in the first place if it weren't for Harry. It suddenly occurred to him how funny it would have been if Harry had subconsciously refrained from thinking about Hermione that way because he thought Ron was interested in her, while at the same time Ron had refrained from thinking about her that way because he thought Harry was interested in her. He chuckled at the thought, but quickly looked away when Hermione glanced back at him. Besides, he reminded himself, Harry was supposed to be with Ginny, not Hermione.

He had been floored when Hermione had revealed to him that she had been interested in him all the way back during fourth year. Bloody hell, he was only fourteen at the time. He had only just started thinking about girls that way then. First it was that Lavender had developed in very interesting ways over the summer, and then when the Beauxbatons students had arrived he saw Fleur. He hadn't been able to think about anyone else when they had announced the ball. And that had been _so_ embarrassing, asking her to the ball and getting turned down. But Hermione was right, he had been jealous of her being with Krum. He had been awful to her that night. Did that mean that he had those kinds of feelings for her and hadn't ever realized it? Hermione had looked really hot the other day, with the blonde hair and that tight top. He had never realized she had such a nice figure. Should he reconsider? It was sort of like noticing suddenly that your sister was a real babe. Actually, he realized, his thoughts drifting, his sister _was_ a real babe. He forgot about Hermione for the moment while he thought about Ginny. He had been so glad when she broke up with Dean. He knew how Dean talked about what he did with other girls in the dorm, and the thought of him with his hands all over Ginny had driven Ron to distraction. If he had ever caught them doing more than kissing … But that was over now and Ginny was with Harry. Sort of. And Harry would treat her right. He shook his head and forced himself to think about the Chudley Cannons. He didn't need any mental images of his best friend making out with his sister.

-----

Harry Potter's thoughts paralleled Ron's, but with one more. Unlike Ron, he was anxious about this trip to Godric's Hollow. Something was calling him there that he couldn't explain. What exactly he expected to find other than a destroyed cottage he couldn't rightly say – it was just a feeling he had.

He was also thinking about the meeting at the Ministry on Monday. Just as Viktor had predicted, Minister Scrimgeour was more than willing to see them, probably hoping for some good publicity. This time Viktor and Harry shared the explanations, with Hermione in her role as Fleur's cousin providing critical counterpoint. Hermione must have spent some time studying Fleur's mannerisms, because she played the haughty Frenchwoman role to perfection. Her positive reaction to the plan as though it were brilliant idea that she had not heard before, and her scoffing attitude that anyone would be a brainless idiot not to go along with it were devastatingly effective.

Scrimgeour's initial protestation that the Office was necessary was swept away by Viktor and 'Janelle's' incredulous reactions. "Minister," Viktor had said coldly, "are you seriously trying to tell us that underage children present more of a threat to wizarding society than Death Eaters?" Janelle's scornful retort, along with a few choice French exclamations, sealed the fate of that objection.

Fortunately, Scrimgeour's Auror background did enable him to see the advantages to being able to identify criminal activity. He was unhappy with the lack of control he would have over the process, but Harry would not relent on this point. They would not be using any current Ministry personnel, since he didn't trust them. He coldly informed the Minister about how he had been the subject of an attack by dementors sent by the Minister's own assistant, and reminded him that a prominent Death Eater like Malfoy had been a confidante of the previous Minister. The stunned reaction of Scrimgeour to the revelation about Umbridge, reinforced by outraged exclamations from Viktor and Janelle and threats by them to go immediately to the press with that information, had given them the upper hand for the remainder of the negotiations. They had finally offered him a 'compromise', which he grasped onto quickly, that one of the current Department heads could oversee the project. Since he had been certain they would suggest Arthur Weasley, he immediately accepted the suggestion of Amos Diggory for the oversight position.

The final objection, to the cost of hiring outside help, was squashed when Harry pulled out a Gringott's bank draft. "Since," he had said generously, "I don't want to pull any resources away from your already overburdened Auror corps," Scrimgeour had visibly relaxed at that assurance, "I am making one million galleons from my own funds available for this project." Turning to Viktor he had added, "Please see my personal banker at Gringotts for anything you need."

They had finished up by making concessions that would allow Scrimgeour to feel good about the deal. Any Death Eaters caught by the project would be credited as the result of the Ministry's 'tough new initiative'. The enhanced Patronus charm would be credited as 'quick thinking by Ministry Aurors attending the Weasley wedding that prevented harm to hundreds of citizens', and the information on how to cast it would be quickly disseminated by the Ministry to the wizarding public. Viktor Krum would make public appearances supporting the Ministry and declaring that he had come to Britain to join in the fight against Voldemort. Everyone would assume that he would be given a figurehead position and used primarily for public relations efforts. Harry's role was to be kept completely confidential, and his name was never to be mentioned in regards to any of this.

For his part, Scrimgeour had agreed to publicly prosecute Umbridge for the dementor attacks, since the charge against Harry two years before for casting his Patronus charm, as well as his defense that it had been in response to a dementor attack was a matter of public record. He also agreed to privately press the charges of torture with a blood quill and make personal apologies to the other students Umbridge had used it on.

In the end, the three had gotten exactly what they wanted, and given up exactly what they had been prepared to. Krum would recruit wizards with top notch fighting skills, using contacts across Britain and Europe, and would spare no expense to outfit and train them. Diggory would quietly replace Mafalda Hopkirk and the others in that office would be reassigned. They would now be in a position to strike back at Voldemort.

Finally, Harry was thinking about his talk with Ginny last night. As part of his deal with Hermione, she and Ron had gone off to one bedroom for their talk while he and Ginny took the other. Hermione was right, he had decided, Ginny did deserve to know the truth. He also recalled that she had been studying Occlumency with Neville, which made him feel a little safer about it. He had taken her hand and led her into the room where he hugged her briefly before pulling away a little and somberly telling her that there were things she needed to know. She had sat very quietly while he talked, her brown eyes growing wider as he confirmed her worst fears.

Without going into too much detail as to time and place, merely establishing that it was after the battle at the Department of Mysteries, he told her about the prophecy. As he explained the implications, and how it affected what had happened during the past year, her eyes had filled with tears and he had stopped, reaching over to take her into his arms. Her tears had dampened his chest as he held her close, wishing desperately that things could be otherwise.

"Is that everything?" she had asked after regaining her composure, sensing that he was still holding something back.

"No, but it's enough for now," he had replied, and after a long look she had accepted the statement, along with the implied assurance that more would be forthcoming in time.

Then he had sat down and pulled her onto his lap, holding her silently until Ron and Hermione had returned. She had remained there as they explained their plans for the summer, revealing that there had been a task that Harry had begun with Dumbledore and that they were now continuing. After understanding that not even the Order, or McGonagall and the other professors knew even as much as she did now, Ginny had relaxed and seemed satisfied. But that didn't mean that she still didn't want to come along this morning.

Harry couldn't blame her. This trip seemed to have nothing to do with the search for Horcruxes, it was just a visit to his original home. Of course she would want to learn more about his life. But he still had that uneasy feeling about it all, and when Molly had put her foot down, he agreed with a mixture of reluctance and relief. He had tried to catch Ginny's eye, silently pleading for her to understand but wasn't sure he had succeeded. She had burst into tears and run from the room.

-----

Hermione was pretty much thinking of everything that was on the minds of all the others. Her Occlumency lessons had enabled her even more to compartmentalize her thoughts and bring them up for review at an amazing rate. She really was able to think about ten different things at the same time.

The part of her mind that was permanently reserved for worrying about Harry was both concerned for the visit to Godric's Hollow and wondering how things were going with Ginny. She had sensed the uneasiness with which Harry was approaching this trip, but couldn't figure out what it was that was bothering him. And while she thought that he had opened up more with Ginny and that that was a good thing, the scene just now had been unsettling. She looked forward to sitting down and talking with him privately again.

On the other hand, she was pleased with how things had gone at the Ministry. Along with that, she was very happy and relieved that Viktor and Harry were getting on so well, as it had always been uncomfortable for her, to say the least, when her friends seemed to dislike each other. Even Ron seemed to have accepted Vikor now. And she was confident that Viktor would be able to handle the task, and reassured that this was at least one thing that she and Harry could delegate to someone else and not concern themselves with so much.

Her mind briefly flicked to Ron, and she glanced over at him as she heard a chuckle; he seemed to have been looking at her but quickly glanced away. Oh well, she had finally closed that chapter in her life last night. It had been embarrassing, but it was the right thing to do. Who knew that Harry would have good advice on something involving feelings, she smiled to herself.

She had also noticed Mrs. Weasley's slightly frosty attitude toward her, but wasn't sure what to do about it. She pushed that one aside. There were plenty of more important things to be concerned about right now. It didn't matter that much what people thought of her, Harry was the important one.

-----

Ginny looked out on the procession from her window upstairs with conflicting emotions churning through her mind also. She tried to force herself to calm down and look at things rationally, like Hermione would. It had been so wonderful being with Harry last night and hearing him open another part of his life to her. She had been sure that it was just a first step, and that he would be letting her in more and more. It had come as a shock this morning to find that she wasn't automatically included in their plans. Why didn't Harry stand up for her and insist that she be allowed to come along? She could take care of herself just as well as they could! When she had been arguing with her mother she had been sure that Harry would take her side, and then when he had agreed with Molly it had crushed her.

What had he been trying to convey with that look he had given her after she had burst into tears, right before she fled from the room? Oh, where was Hermione when she needed her? She would be able to explain what Harry was thinking, she always could. But if Ginny was going to be with Harry she needed to be able to figure this out for herself. His look had conveyed concern and sympathy … and resignation. That was it. He felt bad for her and was worried at how she was taking it. But maybe he didn't think it was important enough to battle with Molly about. After all, it had been hard enough getting her to allow Ron to come. Deep down, Ginny realized that her mother was super protective of her. Maybe it was better to let her win this one and try again later.

She continued to watch out the window, hoping that Harry would turn and look up at her so she could somehow communicate to him that she was all right, that she understood. At least she hoped she did.

-----

Remus reached the edge of the anti-apparation barrier and looked around. No one had spoken during the walk down from the house. Harry seemed to be hanging back a little, bothered about something. He quickly decided to take Ron first, then Hermione, then Harry. When he and Harry were alone he would ask if everything were OK.

"Ron, let's go." He took Ron's arm and they disappeared with a pop. A few seconds later he was back. "Hermione?" Hermione took a worried look at Harry, then turned back to Remus and nodded. Pop, they were gone.

Harry looked back at the Burrow one more time, his eyes going up to a second floor window. He saw Ginny watching; when she saw him looking she put her hand to her mouth and blew him a kiss. Then she smile and waved. A grin broke across his face as he waved back.

A pop signaled the arrival of Remus. "Everything OK, Harry?" he asked with concern. Harry smiled back at Remus.

"Everything's fine. Let's go." One more pop and they were gone.

---------------

A/N That's right, a chapter with an elapsed time of about 3 minutes. I thought they were going to go to Godric's Hollow this chapter, but they had a lot on their minds. They'll get there next chapter.


	14. Godric's Hollow

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

I forgot to include this in the A/N at the end of last chapter. I have enjoyed several fanfics that used the multiple viewpoint/reflection style that I employed in that chapter. One in particular, which also devoted an entire chapter to it, is 'Awakening Power' by sib-ff.

Once again, thanks to Dee (mrs. vanblundht) for prereading this chapter.

---------------

**Chapter 14, Godric's Hollow**

Remus and Ron arrived with a pop at the edge of a deserted, dusty old road. Remus looked around carefully, and then popped away again. Ron looked around, but saw nothing but a meadow surrounded by a few trees. Off in the distance he could see a little village, but there was no sign of habitation anywhere nearby. Just then Remus reappeared with Hermione, then disappeared once more. Hermione repeated Ron's scan of the area.

"Why do you suppose we're out in the middle of nowhere?" Ron asked her, noticing the same confusion in her face that he felt.

"Maybe to avoid being noticed?" Hermione offered. "I presume that must be Godric's Hollow over there?" Ron nodded his agreement.

Remus returned for the final time with Harry. Surprisingly, they both just stood staring at the meadow instead of looking off at the village. Hermione looked at the meadow, then at Remus and Harry, then at the meadow again, frowning in thought. Ron's curiosity soon got the best of him. "Mate? What are you two looking at?"

Harry steadied himself as he and Remus landed, and immediately looked at the cottage in front of him. Something tickled at the back of his mind. He knew this place. He had seen it in his dreams. This had been his home. His eyes moistened and he quickly rubbed at them with the back of his hand. Ron said something, but he didn't hear, his mind whirling with emotion. He felt Hermione's hand slip into his and give it a squeeze, and he half-consciously squeezed back, grateful for her comforting presence.

"Harry?" He turned to her and saw a strange expression on her face, then turned further and noticed a look of confusion on Ron's face. His mind finally processed the question that Ron had asked.

"What do you mean? I'm looking at my … my …" he couldn't manage to say it. Remus looked at Hermione and Ron's expressions and suddenly realized something.

"Hermione and Ron," the older man inquired, "what do you see?"

Comprehension began to dawn on Hermione's face, but Ron was as confused as ever. "A meadow and some trees. Why?"

"The Fidelius charm," said Hermione simply.

Remus nodded. "Har… The place we were coming to visit is still under the Fidelius. I hadn't thought of that. It's still working after all these years. Lily was very gifted at charms," he mused admiringly.

Harry suddenly realized what was going on, and why he hadn't been able to say the words 'my house' out loud.

"So why can you and Harry see it?" blurted out Ron.

Remus paused and thought before answering. "I had been told the secret. Only a few of us knew about it. Harry was actually part of the secret, so obviously he can see it. He lived here so he'd have to be able to see his own house, right?"

"But I thought you didn't know that Pettigrew was the secret keeper. How did you know?"

Hermione, who had been half listening to this conversation while keeping an eye on Harry's reaction answered impatiently, "Ron, he probably was given a slip of paper with the secret written on it, just like we did with Grim… headquarters. Dumbledore was the secret keeper for that, but Moody was the one who showed us the paper, remember?"

She turned her attention briefly to Remus, who acknowledged that she was correct. "I don't suppose you still have the paper?" she asked without too much optimism. Remus just shook his head sadly. He had been trying to forget all about this for fifteen years. Virtually nothing remained in his possession from that time in his life. "Does that mean we need to get Pettigrew to write out it out again so that Ron and I can see it?"

"That's a possibility." Remus admitted.

Meanwhile, Harry had been taking in the appearance of his former home. It was something like what he saw in his dreams, but not exactly. He realized that in his dreams he saw this house as it was fifteen years ago. There was a stone fence around the property, but the gate was missing. Inside the fence the meadow had reclaimed the beautiful lawn and flower gardens that had once surrounded the house. A battered door hung at an angle in the doorway, and some of the windows were broken. He had only half heard the discussion, but he realized that Ron and Hermione would have a problem coming any farther.

He finally spoke up. "Maybe Remus and I can lead you into the house." He looked down and noticed that he was still holding Hermione's hand. He glanced up at her and she nodded in agreement, willing to try it. They slowly walked through the gap in the wall where the gate was missing and up to the broken door. As they passed the wall he felt a tingle and looked quickly over at Hermione with concern. She nodded that she had felt it too, but gave him an encouraging smile. It was working so far.

Just as they reached the door, Remus called out. "It's not working for me. I can't get Ron through the gate. You'll have to come back for him. Leaving Hermione at the door, Harry returned to the gate and grabbed Ron's hand as Remus walked up to join Hermione. In a few seconds they were all at the doorway.

Remus put a hand on Harry's shoulder. Let me go first. Harry swallowed at the lump that seemed to have appeared in his throat and nodded.

Ron was looking around, still not seeing anything but meadow. He watched in amazement as Remus seemed to push something aside and then disappeared right before his eyes. "Bloody hell!"

Hermione, who was still watching Harry worriedly, automatically reached out and smacked Ron on the shoulder, causing Harry to smile for a moment. Some things never changed. Somehow that thought was reassuring and his nervousness lifted a little. Looking up gratefully at his two best friends, he took hold of each of their hands and carefully maneuvered them through the doorway that they couldn't see. A stronger tingle, almost a jolt this time, passed through them but a quick glance reassured him that they were both still OK.

The inside of the house looked much bigger than the outside. They were in an entryway that opened up to several rooms. A formal living room was on one side while a less formal family area was on the other. There was a stairs leading up to several more rooms, presumably bedrooms, which was strange because the cottage had appeared to be only one story. A hallway led to a kitchen and a dining area.

Remus had stopped just inside the entryway. He turned to them with tears in his eyes, nodding toward the family area. Broken furniture was overturned and mingled with long forgotten toys on the floor. Blast marks from powerful curses were on the walls, and all the windows in this room had been blown out. There was a gasp from Hermione and Ron, indicating that they could see everything now that they were inside the house. Harry just stood mutely, staring at the place where his father had been killed. Hermione's hand tightened over his as two tears tracked their way down his cheeks. Her head found his shoulder and he felt Ron's hand on his back.

They stood there silently, patiently waiting for as long as Harry needed them. Finally he looked over at the three of them in appreciation and stepped forward into the room.

Suddenly a mist filled the room. In a flash, Harry and Hermione's wands were out and they had moved into a fighting stance, with Ron following only an instant later. Remus also had his wand out, and he had spun around, scanning the room for threats. Nothing emerged, however, and the mist slowly cleared. As it cleared they heard voices from the room. Turning back quickly they immediately saw that the room had changed. The furniture was upright and repaired, the walls clear, and the windows unbroken. There were now three people in the room, a man, a woman, and a small child. Without realizing it, Harry lowered his wand and stepped forward, not willing to believe what he was seeing. He had seen this man and woman before, in the Mirror of Erised.

"Mum? Dad?"

Simultaneously he heard from next to him, "James? Lily?" He turned to see Remus staring at them too, and quickly turned back. There was no response from either of them or the child. Indeed, they seemed to not even notice the presence of others in the room with them. Harry suddenly realized what this reminded him of. He had visited many scenes like this recently in Dumbledore's pensieve. Without turning around he asked the others, "Can you all see this too?"

Upon receiving affirmative responses he offered his explanation. "This is just like a pensieve memory. I think we're seeing me and my parents when I was little. That's what that mist was, the memory starting. I guess I must have triggered it when I stepped into the room. Remus, have you ever heard anything like this?"

"No, but I think you're right. Let's just see what happens."

"Harry," Ron finally asked, "is that really you?" Harry felt Ron and Hermione move up on either side of him, and Hermione took his hand again.

James was on the floor playing with little Harry, and was sitting back, smiling at him. Suddenly an alarm went off, startling the three of them. James and Lily looked at each other in terror, and little Harry began to cry.

"Lily, take Harry and go!" James shouted. "It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off …"

Harry's stomach constricted into a small ball and his throat tightened. He knew what was coming next. He had seen this scene too many times in dementor-induced nightmares.

The door burst open with a crash. The other three jumped out of their skin, but Harry was expecting it. Without realizing what he was doing, he moved back out of the way to watch his father about to meet his death at the hands of Voldemort.

"Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!" Two of those shouts came from Ron and Remus, but their spells passed harmlessly through the apparition that was Voldemort. The third, from his father, impacted harmlessly against the powerful dark wizard's shield spell.

Harry watched helplessly, clenching his fists as his father hurled every spell he could think of at Voldemort, but the evil one blocked them all, cackling with a high pitched laughter. "So, you thought you could defy me," he hissed. "You thought you could hide from the vengeance of the Dark Lord. Crucio!"

Harry shrank back, not wanting to see his father tortured, but unable to tear his eyes away from the scene. James dodged the curse however, diving across the room and springing back to his feet to face Voldemort again. It was too late. Voldemort had already cast the fatal spell.

"Avada Kedavra!" A green jet of light struck down James Potter and he fell lifelessly to the floor.

"Nooo!" Even though he knew it was a vision, Harry could not contain himself. He ran to his father and tried to pick him up, but as he knew would happen, his arms passed right through the body.

He turned to see Voldemort striding out of the room and heading up the stairs. Ron and Hermione were backing away in terror, and Remus stood watching helplessly, shaken at having just seen his best friend die. Harry raced out of the room following the dark wizard and watched him go up the stairs to kill his mother.

"Reducto!" Harry couldn't help himself, and watched the spell pass harmlessly through the ethereal body of his nemesis and blow a hole in the wall at the top of the stairs. As he was staring he noticed for the first time that Voldemort carried a sword in one hand and a wand in the other. Racing up the stairs after him, he arrived just in time to see Voldemort confront his mother.

Lily stood in front of her crying child, her wand up. Before she could react, a nonverbal disarming spell hit her, and her wand went flying. Ignoring the wand as it clattered to the floor next to him, Voldemort spoke again in that awful, hated voice. "Stand aside."

Harry knew what was coming next. He could almost repeat it word for word, he had heard it so many times in his nightmares. "Not Harry! Not Harry! Please – I'll do anything – "

"Stand aside. Stand aside girl." Volemort was slowly advancing on Lily, his wand on her carefully. '_What is he waiting for?' _thought Harry, '_why doesn't he just kill her?'_

"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!

"Stand aside, you silly girl … stand aside, now …"

"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead – "

Still, Voldemort did nothing. Incredibly, he seemed determined to spare Harry's mother. He was close enough to her now and reached out to physically move her away. Instead, she curled herself around Harry, clutching him in her arms. A faint white glow seemed to surround mother and child, and Voldemort pulled his hand away quickly, as though burned.

"Not Harry! Please … have mercy … have mercy …"

Now Voldemort apparently gave up on separating the two, pointing his wand at Lily again. Shrill laughter broke out as a nonverbal Cruciatas curse hit Lily and she started screaming. Still, she would not let go of her son.

"Avada Kedavra." The voice hissed once more, the green light flashed, and Lily slumped to the floor.

Little Harry clung fiercely to his dead mother, his face buried into her chest. Voldemort walked up to him and laid the sword on his head. Suddenly, Harry realized what the sword was for. At the touch of the blade, the child looked up into the evil wizard's face, hatred blazing in his green eyes.

"Avada Kedavra!" The green light jetted forth once more from his wand and struck little Harry directly in the forehead. This time, however, it reflected right back into Voldemort, striking him before the shocked wizard could move.

Voldemort's body collapsed, and there was a loud clank as the sword hit the floor next to the now unconscious child. Instantly there was a loud piercing shriek, and a wisp of something flew from the body of the vanquished dark lord, swirled around briefly, and sped from the room.

Harry felt his legs giving way, but suddenly two pairs of strong hands caught him, while a smaller hand clutched at his own. Hermione's anxious, tear-streaked face appeared in front of him, while he was slowly lowered to the floor. The mist filled the room again, then slowly dissipated. Harry quickly looked over at where the bodies had been laying, but they were gone. The dilapidated room with old, broken furniture had returned.

"Bloody hell!" For once, Hermione didn't take exception to Ron's comment. All of them were stunned by what they had just witnessed.

"Harry. The sword's still here." Harry had been staring at the place where his mother's body had been, and Hermione and Remus had been focusing their attention on Harry, so Ron was the first one to notice the weapon. Harry got up and walked over to it. It lay there gleaming as though freshly polished. It clearly had not been laying here in the dust for fifteen years.

"Be careful Harry!" came Hermione's voice from behind him. But Harry recognized this sword. Somehow it was calling to him. He reached out and turned it over to read the name he knew would be engraved just below the hilt. _Godric Gryffindor_.

"Be careful Harry." Hermione repeated. "What if that's a Horcrux?"

"No," replied Harry quietly. Didn't you see? The soul didn't enter the sword. It flew away." He turned and showed them the name on the sword. "This is the sword of Godric Gryffindor. It's the same one I used to kill the basilisk."

"But how? How can it be here _and_ in Dumbledore's office?"

Harry turned to Remus. "Do you know," he asked, "how long this sword has been hanging in the headmaster's office?"

Remus shook his head. "I don't remember it being there when I was a student, and I was in that office quite a few times then. I know it was there the year I taught at Hogwarts."

Harry pondered all of this for awhile, then laid the sword down carefully. To everyone's surprise but his, it vanished.

"What? Where'd it go?" several voices cried out. Harry didn't answer. Somehow, he just knew. The sword had communicated with him in some way. He stretched out his hand and concentrated on it. The sword reappeared in the air in front of him, but crashed to the ground before he could grab it.

"I guess I need to practice at this." was Harry's only comment. The others, however, were beside themselves with curiosity.

"What did you do?" How did you do that?"

Harry picked up the sword and turned to them. "When I killed the basilisk, I pulled this sword out of the Sorting Hat. But when Fawkes first dropped me the hat, the sword wasn't in it. It only appeared when I put the hat on and called out for help." He turned and looked at the sword in wonderment. "Somehow, it seems to appear when I summon it."

He turned to look around the room. "Somehow, this whole memory was here waiting for me to trigger it. I'm not sure if it was the sword, or something my mum did, but this was all here to tell me something I needed to know." He looked back at the other three. "I've been feeling it calling me to come here for a while now."

He looked closely at the sword again. "We're connected. I don't know if it first happened when he tried to kill me or if goes back even farther, but we defeated him together. I think this is the key. This is how I'm supposed to kill him."

He thought some more. "The name of this place is Godric's Hollow. It must be named after Gryffindor, right? His sword was here and played a part in killing him the first time. It appeared again when I needed it to kill the basilisk, while I was fighting the first Horcrux. It all fits together somehow."

He looked back at the others once more. "Now we have another reason to go back to Hogwarts next week. Maybe Dumbledore's portrait will have some answers for us."

-----

After they all settled down, they explored the remains of the cottage. Ron and Hermione never left Harry's side as he sifted through the broken remains of his past. Remus kept watch outside, preferring to spend as little time in the cottage of his dead friends as possible. He wanted to remember it the way it had been as much as he could.

Tears once more streamed down Hermione's cheeks as she watched Harry look at his old toys. Even Ron had to wipe his eyes once or twice as the two of them thought about the happy childhood Harry should have had, but which had been denied him by Voldemort and the Dursleys. They looked at each other and silently vowed that if they had anything to say about it, both parties would pay.

Suddenly Harry sank to his knees, sobbing. In his hand was an old toy snitch. Ron and Hermione rushed to his side, Hermione hugging him while Ron carefully took the snitch and held it up. Printed on the sphere were the words:

_Harry Potter, Future Gryffindor Seeker_

_1st Birthday_

Ron put his arm around Harry too, joining in Hermione's embrace. Finally Harry got control of himself to murmur in a low voice. "They never got to see me play. My dad would have been so happy seeing me play quidditch."

The three friends sat there for a long time, two of them doing their best to comfort the third, but knowing that nothing could bring back what he had lost.

Later, as they walked out into the meadow behind the house, Ron and Hermione fell back a little to give Harry some space. Ron turned to Hermione. "I never really thought about what it was like for him, Hermione. I mean, I knew that the Dursleys treated him like trash, but I never really thought about what it meant, what he would have had. And what we saw in there, that vision. Is that what he sees and hears in his nightmares?"

Hermione could only nod. Even though she had thought about Harry's childhood a lot more than Ron had, seeing the reality brought it home more clearly than she could have imagined. She shuddered at the thought of having to relive her parents' deaths over and over.

Ron continued, "I can't believe I ever envied him." He turned to her. "I don't want to be him anymore." Hermione just smiled and shook her head, then reached up and hugged her other best friend. He was finally starting to get it.

-----

They stayed at the cottage most of the day. Harry explored every inch of every room, trying to learn as much about his parents' lives as possible. The most valuable time came from sitting with Remus under a tree, listening to him reminisce, prompting him for as many memories as he could recall. Ron and Hermione never left his side, supporting him as only best friends can, laughing with him during the fun stories and hugging him during the sad ones.

Hermione kept a close watch on all three of the others. She was proud of Ron's more mature attitude, his unconditional support of his friend, and his willingness to share in Harry's emotions. He had surprised her when he unhesitatingly joined in their hugs. His emotional range was now much larger than that of a teaspoon she thought, smiling to herself.

Remus, to her relief, had relaxed as the day went on. This was a therapeutic experience for him as well, she concluded. She had been aware of his extreme reluctance to come here, and understood why he would have wanted to bury these memories forever. But it had been the right decision, and confronting them had put him on the path to healing. He was forgiving James and forgiving himself.

Of course she had been the most concerned about Harry, and things seemed to be going well for him, too. He had been desperate for information about his parents for as long as she had known him, and she had never understood why the adults in his life had denied it to him. He didn't even know where they were buried, she thought angrily. Why had he never been allowed to mourn them properly? But more and more she could see that he was coming to be at peace with the whole thing. While she certainly wouldn't want to go through that vision again, it had given him some closure, and answered some of the questions that had always haunted him. There were new questions raised, she knew. Why had Voldemort been so reluctant to kill Lily? And what was going on with the sword of Gryffindor? That was scary and exciting at the same time, the idea that Harry alone could summon the symbol of the legendary wizard.

-----

The trio apparated back to the house on Turnbull Ct. in the late afternoon and Remus returned to Grimmauld Place. Hermione took Ron into the kitchen to help her prepare supper, leaving Harry to rest in the living area. She was sure it had been an exhausting day for him, more so than for her and Ron, and she wanted to let him absorb it all at his own pace. Ron in the kitchen turned out to be a bad idea. He wanted to levitate everything, much as the twins had two summers ago at Grimmauld Place, and she had to explain to him that they were deliberately minimizing their use of magic here, in order to avoid giving the Ministry any way of detecting where they were. Ron however, was hopeless doing things the muggle way. His kitchen experience at home apparently had been minimal in the first place, such that he couldn't even boil water or put something into the oven or on the stove without asking a slew of questions. The microwave was an insolvable mystery. Finally she just had him set the table and shooed him out to check on Harry.

To the relief of both Ron and Hermione, Harry seemed fine at dinner, and joined in with their conversation about the events of the past week without any hesitation. Hermione could tell, though, that something was on his mind. Instead of trying to pry it out of him, as she would have before this summer, she waited patiently for him to talk to them about it. Her trust was proven well placed again when, after helping her clean up after supper, Harry told them he wanted their opinions on an idea he had and they headed for the living area.

After they each settled into a comfortable chair or sofa Harry spoke up.

"First I want to thank you both for everything you did today. I can't tell you how much it meant to me to have you with me." He quickly waved aside their response. "I know you've told me over and over that you're with me on this, but it isn't something you had to do and I want you to know I appreciate it, even though I'm not always good about expressing it."

"You're welcome Harry," Hermione responded softly. "It's OK, mate," was Ron's reply.

"Now I've been thinking," continued Harry. I really feel a lot better after today, even though it was horrible watching it at the time. I think it helped me seeing it now instead of dwelling on it in my head and I think it will help me deal better with the nightmares. Here's my idea. You know how much Ginny wanted to come with us today." The others both nodded. That had been pretty hard to miss. "I think we made the right decision, because I think this would have been pretty hard for her to take. You guys know me better than she does, and you could handle the way I reacted better."

"I think you may be right, Harry, but I also think you're underestimating her," replied Hermione.

"Yeah, she's pretty tough," agreed Ron. "But I don't know, she might have reacted pretty badly to what we had to watch. It's hard to say."

"I know she's tough. And she's got some pretty horrible memories of her own. That's what gave me the idea. What do you think of taking her with us when we go visit the chamber next week?"

The other two were initially taken aback by this suggestion. After all, it had been the most horrible experience of Ginny's life. "I don't know, Harry. She still has nightmares about that place," offered Ron.

Harry and Hermione both nodded. Ginny had told Hermione about her nightmares, and Harry had suspected it. "That's one of the reasons I'm suggesting it, though," Harry argued. "I think seeing the place where this happened in the light of day will help my nightmares. I wonder if going back and seeing it again now that she's older and better able to deal with it might help her."

"That's a good point," agreed Hermione. "I've read about how that can help in dealing with bad memories. I think it helped Remus today, too. But would just going there be the same thing as we went through today? With that vision, you actually relived it."

"It's possible that we could do something like that. We could use Dumbledore's pensieve and I could show her my memory. She was unconscious for the whole thing, so she didn't actually see Riddle die. Maybe if she sees me kill the basilisk, which she was forced to control remember, and sees Riddle die, it will help her deal with the nightmares."

"I get it. I think you're right, that might help. When she sees or hears Riddle taunting her, she can say, 'You're dead. I saw you die.'" With Ron's concurrence the decision was finalized. "But you have to be the one to tell Mum." They all laughed at that and agreed that if Molly would listen to any of them it would be Harry.

That evening Ron went for a walk with Harry and Hermione so they could show him the neighborhood. Ron raised his eyebrows in surprise as Hermione automatically slipped her hand into Harry's and was uneasy that they made much more contact with each other during the walk than he was used to. Seeing his confusion they reminded him that to the people in this neighborhood they were newlyweds and they needed to act like it. They also reminded him to call them Jack and Jane. They introduced him to a few of their neighbors as their best friend from school. He declined their offer to take him running with them in the morning.

-----

Ron did not adapt well to muggle life. Living his whole life with magic had not prepared him to deal with everyday things that Harry and Hermione took for granted. Commonplace things like on-off switches and door locks were puzzles. He wanted to just point his wand at anything to get it to operate. Telephones, televisions, music players, and computers were, like the microwave, absolute mysteries. He liked watching the television when Harry or Hermione turned it on for him and put a movie in the tape player, but became less interested when he realized that the pictures on the screen did not respond to him like the moving pictures he was familiar with. When they tried to teach him to play cards he was irritated that the cards did not do what he instructed them to do.

By Friday he was getting difficult to live with. By Saturday they were all ready to call it quits. They each gave him a hug as he prepared to apparate back home, and made sure he knew that they weren't upset at his inability to fit in They also promised that they would come to the Burrow for dinner the next day to talk to Ginny and Molly and to prepare for their trip to Hogwarts.

-----

"Hermione?"

"Hmm?"

"I was just thinking about what happened with Ron."

"Me too. What were you thinking about?"

Harry and Hermione were relaxing on the sofas in the living area and had just finished watching a TV show that Saturday night. Hermione had just picked up a book but put it down quickly and gave her attention to Harry.

"How was it for you when you first went to Hogwarts?"

"Well, as you probably remember, the toughest thing for me was that I didn't have any friends for the first two months. I never really hit it off with Parvati and Lavender and I tried to get to know you and Ron, but you didn't want me hanging around either. Neville was the only one who even wanted to talk to me."

Harry's shoulders slumped and he hung his head. "Oh Hermione, I'm so sorry about that. I feel terrible every time I think about it. I …"

Silently berating herself for bringing that up, Hermione quickly crossed to the sofa Harry was on and sat down next to him, grabbing his shoulder to make him look up at her and interrupting his apology. "Harry, I didn't mean it like that. You don't have to apologize for that anymore. You've more than made up for it since. I couldn't have a better friend." He smiled weakly back at her and she relaxed. "But that's not what you meant, is it?"

"No, I was wondering how well you adjusted to magic."

"It wasn't as hard as it might have been. I'd read about a dozen books about everything magical I could find. I was really looking forward to it and prepared myself as well as I could. I even practiced some spells."

Harry smiled again, remembering the bossy little girl on the train. "Yeah, I remember that you seemed like you knew everything. I was really intimidated by you back then."

Hermione's jaw dropped. "You were intimidated by me! I was intimidated by you. You were the famous Harry Potter. I started babbling every time I talked to you."

They both burst out laughing as they realized how far their perceptions had been from reality.

"Oh yeah, I remember." Harry switched to an imitation of an eleven year old girl's voice. "Are you really Harry Potter? I know all about you of course. I got a few extra books for background reading and you're in…" he switched back to his regular voice. "Which books was I in again? Never mind." Switching back to the little girl voice he continued, "I've learned all of our course books by heart of course. Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad."

Hermione was torn between being embarrassed and impressed, and settled for just staring at him.

"Oh, and my personal favorite," Harry concluded. "We could all have been killed, or worse, expelled!"

Hermione buried her face in her hands and groaned. "Of all the things I've said to you, why did you have to remember that one?"

Harry said calmly, "I remember a lot of the things you've said to me Hermione."

Hermione looked up at him and the room suddenly seemed very quiet. Harry found himself staring into her dark brown eyes and began to feel a little uncomfortable.

Hermione said in a low voice, "I don't know. I think Hermione does. Why don't you ask her?"

Harry immediately recognized his words from Snape's first class. Hermione continued softly, "I remember too. I think that was the first nice thing you said about me."

Harry shifted uneasily. He decided to move the conversation back to where it had started. "You were always so desperate to answer every question," he noted. "Was it because you were trying to prove yourself? To make up for being muggleborn?"

"I guess I was, but I'd always been that way in school. I was really desperate to fit in. I'd always been an outcast in my other schools. When I found out I was a witch I thought I would find others like me and finally make some friends. But it was really no better at Hogwarts. Being a know-it-all didn't make me any friends there any more than it had before. But you changed all that. Being friends with you … and Ron too. People started accepting me. I don't think you fully realize how much your friendship did for me."

"But being friends with you and Ron saved me too," objected Harry. "Everyone else had the same reaction that you did at first. 'Look, it's the famous Harry Potter,'" he said bitterly. "It was like they expected me to walk on water or something. Huh. I didn't know I was famous. I couldn't figure out what everyone was talking about. I didn't have a clue about anything. I was so lost those first few weeks. Ron was constantly having to explain things to me."

He now became serious again. "Seeing how much trouble Ron had adjusting to muggle life reminded me of that." He looked up at her. "So do most muggleborns adjust to magic as quickly as you did or are some like I was?"

"Probably more like you. It was worse for you because nobody thought of you as muggleborn, so everyone expected you to know things and didn't bother to explain anything. Not too many incoming students read as much as I did."

Harry couldn't help laughing at that. "No, really?" Hermione hit him on the shoulder and tried to look insulted, but gave up and smiled back. Harry looked thoughtful again. "If I was running Hogwarts, I'd try to do something to help muggleborn students adjust. It's almost as though they want us to fail."

Hermione found it interesting that Harry thought of himself as muggleborn, even though he wasn't. He really was a unique person. Famous from birth, born to a wizard family, descended from a long line of wizards on his father's side, but raised as a muggle without any of the wizarding world's prejudices. This is what had earned him the goblins' support, and might somehow be the key to his ability to defeat Voldemort.

She shook aside that train of thought. "Well, you might be in a position to do something about that. I'm guessing McGonagall wants you to come back to Hogwarts pretty badly. Maybe you can get her to set up something like that."

Harry didn't answer that, so she continued. "Do you want to know what I was thinking about?"

"Sure," he answered quickly.

"I was thinking of something similar, only for wizards. So many wizards are helpless in the muggle world. Look at Arthur Weasley. He loves muggle stuff, but he probably still wouldn't be able to function in a muggle environment." She frowned. "Our Muggle Studies course should be able to help that but it's a joke. I don't think the content's been updated in a hundred years!"

"Maybe we can talk to McGonagall about that, too," he concluded. They both sat in thought for awhile.

"Are you ready for tomorrow and for Hogwarts?"

"I think so. Do you really think we'll find one there?"

"I do. But we'll worry about that when we get there. Let's get to bed. You're going to need your strength tomorrow to battle Mrs. Weasley."

He pretended to cower in terror, and she laughingly poked him in the shoulder as she stood up and pulled him to his feet and they headed off to bed.

---------------

A/N The quotes from James, Lily, and Voldemort in this chapter are taken verbatim from the dementor scenes in 'Prisoner of Azkeban'.

One of the problems with writing one story while editing another is getting confused about what's in which story. As it turns out, Old Crow's 'Tom and Harry' has a sub theme that is similar to the conversation between Harry and Hermione at the end of this chapter. As far as I know, we both came up with this independently at about the same time. I received a chapter from him with these ideas just a few days after I wrote this. Of course, he writes and posts much faster than I do, so his chapter came out about a month before this one.


	15. Into the Chamber of Secrets

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Once again, thanks to Dee (mrs. vanblundht) for prereading this chapter.

---------------

**Chapter 15, Into the Chamber of Secrets**

Monday, July 21

A pair of pops and a crack broke the silence of Hogsmeade station as two young wizards and two young witches appeared, the wizards quickly turning in opposite directions with their wands out searching for threats while one of the witches had her wand up to provide cover if necessary. The other witch, who had been holding onto one of the wizards, hesitated briefly and then pulled out her wand also. Eventually, satisfied that no threats were present, they all started walking toward the gates of Hogwarts.

Hermione carefully put away the emergency portkey that she had been holding, ready to activate if necessary. She had created her first portkey yesterday, and as she had predicted, she had been exhausted for several hours and had rested most of the afternoon.

"You really need to work at apparating more quietly, Ron," she said, turning to him. Those loud cracks the twins are so fond of aren't very good for sneaking into places."

Harry braced himself for another Ron-Hermione argument but Ron merely shrugged and replied, "You're right, Hermione. I haven't had as much chance to practice as you and Harry." Harry was pleasantly surprised. Now that he thought of it, Ron and Hermione had been getting along without their usual bickering ever since the wedding. If this kept up, it would make their task that much easier.

Ron turned to Harry and grinned, "That's quite an interesting apparation technique you use. I always thought side-along apparition only required you to hold the other person's arm." Harry grinned back and noticed Ginny blushing. He had dual apparated Ginny by grabbing her into a hug and popping away before she knew what was happening, and was pretty sure she had enjoyed it as much as he had. He was about to reply when Hermione spoke first.

"Oh, Harry's apparated me that way too. It works just fine." She suddenly looked up and noticed that Ron and Ginny had stopped at her words. Ron was staring at her strangely while Ginny had looked first at her, then at Harry with concern.

"Oh honestly, don't look at me like that. It was right after the fight at your brothers' store. I was all shook up and he took me back to my parents. Besides, we hug all the time." She marched over to Ron and linked her arm through his, then did the same with her other arm with Harry as they resumed walking toward the gates, Harry grabbing Ginny's hand as they went by.

As the four of them walked along together, Harry got a feeling that this seemed familiar somehow. A grin suddenly appeared on his face and he turned to Hermione and said, "Follow the yellow brick road?"

She grinned back and began, "Weeeee're off to see the wizard," and suddenly she and Harry were skipping and singing, "the wonderful Wizard of Oz. We hear he is a wiz of a wiz, if ever a wiz there was." They were pulling Ron and Ginny along with them, and the other two had to break into a trot and were looking very alarmed. _Harry and Hermione skipping and singing? What was going on? Were they somehow possessed?_

At that point Harry and Hermione stopped and doubled over laughing. Ron and Ginny exchanged a worried look and continued to stare at the two of them.

Harry stood up and began to reassure them. "Sorry you guys. That's a song from a muggle movie."

"It's about four friends who are going to see a wizard and ask him for help," continued Hermione. "There's a scarecrow …" she looked at Harry and they both said simultaneously, "Ron" and started laughing again.

"There's a muggle movie about wizards?" Ron said, still not sure what was going on.

"I'm Dorothy … no Ginny's Dorothy, she's smaller," said Hermione, resuming her description.

"I'm the lion," said Harry, puffing up his chest, "Rrrroooaaaarrrr!" Ginny couldn't believe what she was seeing. What had gotten into her Harry?

"I guess that makes me the tin man," decided Hermione. She turned to Ron, "You're going to ask the wizard for a brain."

'Hey!" objected Ron, causing Harry and Hermione to break out into giggles.

"Well, I need a heart," Hermione pointed out when she could talk again.

"And I need courage," Harry chimed in. Hermione snorted at this.

"Yeah, like you need any more courage," Hermione countered.

"What do you mean, I'm scared all the time," Harry objected.

"What am I supposed to be asking for," asked Ginny, not understanding at all why Harry would say that, but starting to get the idea of the story.

"You're trying to get back home and away from all these strange people," answered Hermoine.

"Well, I can sure identify with that right now," Ginny observed pointedly, and they all started laughing again.

As they calmed down and resumed they walk toward the gate, Harry said, "There's a wicked witch of the west. Who would that be?"

"Bellatrix!" the other three all responded.

"Maybe the next time you fight her you should pour water on her," observed Hermione. Suddenly she stopped and started to shrink down to the ground, "I'm mellllting!" Harry laughed again while Ron and Ginny just stood there shaking their heads. Their friends had some serious problems.

Harry finished by saying, "You guys _have got_ to come over and see that movie sometime."

They had flooed McGonagall to tell her they were coming, so Hagrid was waiting to meet them at the gate. After warmly greeting their large friend, and promising to stop by and visit later, they headed toward the castle.

-----

Yesterday had been a busy day. After attending the morning service at the little church they had discovered within walking distance of their house, they arrived at the Burrow at lunch time. After lunch Hermione had made the portkey, then napped the rest of the afternoon while Harry, Ron, and Ginny had gone outside to play quidditch.

Harry's real purpose in getting them outside had been to talk to Ginny. After flying for a while he had them land and gathered them together under a tree.

Ginny's eyes had grown wide as Harry described Voldemort's creation of Horcruxes, then started to shake when she learned that her diary had been one of them. The thought of being possessed by Voldemort's soul still gave her nightmares. Harry had stopped his story and drawn her into a hug, while Ron leaned over and patted her gently on the back.

The next part had both excited her and terrified her. _Harry was asking her to go with him! It was just what she had been hoping for. But, he wanted her to relive that horrible time in her life? Could she bear to go through that again?_ Torn, she had listened mutely as Harry explained that he and Hermione thought it might help her nightmares if she could see Riddle and the basilisk actually die. She had barely registered what he said as he explained seeing the vision of Voldemort killing his parents. Reluctantly, she had agreed to go through it, trusting that he would be with her to help her face the ordeal.

Getting Molly to agree had been a struggle, but not an insurmountable one. Molly knew that Ginny desperately wanted to be included in the trio's activities, and accompanying them on a visit to Hogwarts to do some research hadn't seemed too dangerous. They had wisely left out the part about revisiting the Chamber of Secrets when they were trying to persuade her. Their revelation that Hermione had made an emergency portkey had caused her some consternation, but she had to admit that it _was_ safer.

-----

As they approached the castle the four became quiet, thinking about what they were about to do. Ginny's anxieties were coming back, and Harry sensed this and gave her hand a squeeze, trying to comfort her. Ron found himself getting excited at being able to see what he had missed the first time, having been left behind the rock slide. Hermione had missed the whole thing, lying petrified in the hospital wing, but was more concerned about Ginny than anything else.

Professor McGonagall greeted them at the door to the castle and led them to her office, where they were surprised to see Professor Flitwick waiting for them. Harry had been in this office many times, but the others had not and they found their eyes wandering around in amazement at the wonders of the office of the Hogwarts Headmaster. Harry noticed that Professor McGonagall had made a few changes, most notably that some of the silver instruments were missing. Their attention was brought back sharply at the sound of a familiar voice.

"Good morning, my young friends. To what do we owe the honor of this visit?" Professor Dumbledore looked out at them fondly from his portrait. Somehow, Harry thought, his eyes seemed to twinkle even in a picture. At their silence the portrait continued, "Minerva has been kind enough to fill me in on the events of my demise." Here, Harry noticed that a look of sadness and regret had replaced the twinkle. He had rarely seen regret in the Professor's eyes, and he found himself saddened as his former mentor went on, "How have you been?" The last was directed to all of them, but especially to him, Harry thought.

He answered for the four of them, as the others were still too spellbound by everything to respond. "Pretty good, Professor. We've been working hard," he said vaguely, not sure how much he should say in the presence of the other two professors. To his surprise the portrait laughed out loud.

"Mr. Potter, that may be the first time that I have ever heard you answer that question any way other than 'I'm fine'. I do believe that Ms Granger is having a positive effect on you."

Hermione blushed at the compliment, but Harry frowned. How did he know that he had been spending all of his time with Hermione lately? His musing was interrupted by Professor McGonagall clearing her throat.

"I didn't expect to see Mr. and Miss Weasley here today, but I suppose they will learn of everything we discuss rather quickly." She had noticed that Harry and Ginny had been holding hands the whole time they had been in the office, and it was well known that Ron was in on everything Harry and Hermione did. "I asked you here to discuss certain matters pertaining to reopening the school in the fall."

Harry shared a nervous look with Hermione, then glanced at Ron before he looked back at McGonagall and responded. "I'm sorry professor, but the three of us probably won't be returning in the fall."

There was a stunned silence from the two professors, broken by a gasp from Ginny as she pulled her hand away and shot Harry a look of dismay and betrayal. _How could he have not told her about this decision?_ Harry gulped, knowing that he had some serious explaining to do to Ginny, but he also noticed that Dumbledore's portrait was looking at him thoughtfully.

McGonagall finally found her voice. "But Mr. Potter. Why?" She turned to Hermione, not believing that the studious witch would seriously consider abandoning her education. "Miss Granger, is this true?"

Hermione felt her face heat up, uncomfortable about being singled out by her favorite professor and unhappy about disappointing her, but also somewhat annoyed that McGonagall would think that she would break with Harry.

"Yes, Professor. The three of us have a … project that we are working on that will require our absence from Hogwarts until it is completed."

"Miss Granger!" McGonagall began sharply, then quickly added, "Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley. What project can be more important than your education. What could you …"

She was interrupted by Dumbledore's voice from the portrait. "Harry. I'm impressed that you took my instructions on secrecy so seriously." McGonagall whirled to glare at the portrait, but kept silent. "But I think it would be to your advantage to explain our little project to Headmistress McGonagall and Professor Flitwick. I believe that they can provide valuable assistance to you. And I would be most interested to hear of any progress you have made." He turned to McGonagall and Flitwick and attempted to head off their irritation. "Minerva and Filius, I'm sure you will be most interested in this story, and then you may find that all of them are more willing to consider your offer.

Harry wondered what offer McGonagall had been about to make, but put that thought aside as he considered what to say. After sharing another look with Hermione, and receiving an encouraging nod, he began to relate the story of the Horcruxes. He saw the expressions on the professors' faces turn from annoyance, to surprise, and then to admiration as he related first his experiences with Dumbledore, then their actions so far during the summer. Hermione interjected details whenever necessary, and actually took over telling the story at times. Ginny listened carefully, since much of the story was new to her, but Ron mostly kept his attention on Harry and Hermione, noting once again how smoothly they worked together as they spun the tale, both in what they described and in the actual telling of it. Professor Flitwick was especially interested in the charms used on Grimmauld place and the Granger house, and the pensive memory that had been unlocked at Godric's Hollow. As he concluded, Harry noticed that the twinkle had returned to Dumbledore's eyes when he told the part about the sword.

Before anyone else could say anything he turned to the portrait and said, "That's one of the reasons we wanted to come here today. What do you think happened with the sword? Was it not here when Voldemort took it to my house?"

"First, Harry, I want to tell you how proud I am of what you have accomplished since I left you." Harry winced slightly at the end of that statement, and immediately felt Hermione's hand give his a comforting squeeze. No one else seemed to notice as Dumbledore continued, "I would have preferred that you included more of the Order in your plans, but the three of you have never seemed to find adults to be very necessary on your adventures." Ron and Harry exchanged guilty looks at that statement, and Harry glanced at Hermione to see a sheepish expression on her face as well.

Dumbledore's portrait chuckled as he went on. "I believe that your interpretation of your connection with Godric's fine sword is correct, although I do not pretend to understand what has caused it. It is indeed true that the Sword of Gryffindor had been missing for many years. In fact, when you brought it out of the Chamber of Secrets it was the first time I had ever seen it. I was not certain from your tale four years ago whether you had summoned the sword somehow, or whether you had simply found it in the chamber. I decided not to press you on the details at that time since you had other things on your mind, such as the condition of both of these lovely young ladies, and reasoning that if there was a connection there that it would be revealed in due time."

Hermione smiled at his comment. She had known that Harry had worried about her while she had been petrified, but it was nice to hear it just the same. Ginny, on the other hand, blushed furiously since she had always considered that to be the defining moment in her relationship with Harry, and it made her heart race just thinking that he had been worried that much about her even back then. Harry, though, was somewhat irritated that yet another important item of information had been kept from him.

McGonagall was astounded at what she was hearing. _Harry Potter was able to summon the legendary sword of Godric Gryffindor?_ She turned to look at the sword mounted on the wall, and then back at him. "Do I understand correctly Mr. Potter, that you summoned this sword to Godric's Hollow last Saturday? This sword right here?"

Harry nodded at her, then remembered his manners. "Yes ma'am, that's correct." He walked over and looked the sword over carefully. "It looked just like this one."

"Why don't you show us now, Harry?" came the voice from the portrait. Harry reluctantly agreed. He had never liked being the center of attention, and it seemed like he was being asked to put on a show. He looked up to see Hermione nodding encouragingly at him and Ron giving him a grin and a thumbs up. Then he noticed that Ginny was gazing at him in awe, which made him uncomfortable again. As he walked away from the sword and focused on what he wanted to do, he didn't notice Hermione whisper sharply into Ginny's ear, and Ginny suddenly snap out of it with an embarrassed look on her face.

Harry turned and concentrated on the sword without looking at it. He tried to envision it in his hand. Suddenly, the sword was in the air in front of him. This time he managed to grab it before it fell to the floor. He relaxed, thinking that it seemed like it was getting easier to call the sword to him each time. All at once he heard several gasps, followed by cheering from Ron. He looked around sheepishly while he walked back to put the sword back into its mount. Just as he got there it seemed to leap out of his hand onto the wall, as though it read his intention.

He turned to study everyone's reaction. Ron was grinning like mad, Hermione was smiling proudly, Ginny's look of awe had returned to her face, McGonagall was stunned, and Flitwick was bouncing up and down excitedly. Dumbledore's portrait had a very satisfied look on its face.

Deciding to change the subject, Harry walked over to stand between Ginny and Hermione and turned back to face the professors. The other students, realizing what was coming quickly became serious.

"The other reason we wanted to come here today," he paused, not sure of the response this would get, "is that we want to go back down into the Chamber of Secrets."

If the professors had been stunned before, this time they were positively shocked. McGonagall sat down hard and raised her hand to her heart. Flitwick became quite still and just stared at them, then started shaking his head as though denying what he had just heard. Even Dumbledore's portrait looked very disturbed. Harry also noticed that all the other portraits had awakened and were giving the students their undivided attention. Finally Dumbledore's portrait spoke.

"That is not a place I thought any of you would ever willingly return to," he said slowly. "Especially Ms Weasley." He made note of the trembling young witch and turned back to Harry. "Would you be so kind to explain your reasoning?"

Haltingly at first, and with explanations from Hermione when necessary, Harry explained their idea that a Horcrux may have been left in the Chamber, and that they also wanted to relive his memory of the experience via the pensieve. He concluded by saying something that he had not shared with the others, that by seeing Tom again in the Chamber he might learn something about where he might have hidden a Horcrux.

Dumbledore's portrait was impressed with the line of reasoning, but not pleased that he would be unable to accompany the group into the Chamber. He was justifiably worried about the dangers of retrieving a Horcrux, for obvious reasons, but since he knew that it was exactly that task that Harry had inherited, there was really nothing he could do about it. He did make a request, which the four students gratefully accepted, that the two professors accompany them into the Chamber.

-----

It was a somber group that entered Moaning Myrtle's bathroom a bit later. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were carrying their shrunken down brooms, which had earned them a questioning look from the others. "We'll need them later," was all that Harry would say. He was glad that they had made Hermione practice on her broom while they had been at the Burrow. While she didn't enjoy flying like he did, she was actually quite competent at it. When they had entered the bathroom and Harry had exchanged his customary greeting with Moaning Myrtle he turned to the sink that hid the entrance.

"Open up," he hissed in Parseltongue. The others jumped.

"Man, that's creepy every time I hear you do it," muttered Ron. Ginny looked at Harry wide-eyed. _It was almost like she had been able to understand him!_ She shuddered as she realized why this would be. Hermione, who had been paying especially close attention to both her and Harry, realized from her expression what had happened and moved over and gave her a hug.

"It's OK," she whispered. "No one blames you for it." The younger witch looked up at her gratefully, and nodded.

Meanwhile, the tap had glowed white and started spinning, with the sink dropping out of sight exposing the large pipe once more.

Neither Hermione, McGonagall, nor Flitwick had seen this sight before, and Ginny had no memory of it. They first three walked around the opening inspecting it with interest, but Ginny merely shrank into Harry's side while he automatically put his arm around her. Finally the three looked at Harry. "I assume we are going to slide down this thing?" McGonagall asked. Harry and Ron nodded grimly.

"Ron and I will go first," began Harry but he was stopped by McGonagall.

"No Mr. Potter, I am responsible for this school. I will go first …" Harry was shaking his head resolutely, "with you," she finished, making the concession.

McGonagall climbed into the pipe and slid out of sight, with Harry right behind her. Ginny insisted on going immediately after Harry, Hermione followed her, then Flitwick, with Ron bringing up the rear.

They arrived at the bottom as slimy as Harry remembered, and as he looked around he heard, "Scourgefy." He looked up and McGonagall and Hermione were performing cleaning charms on themselves, then on the others. He caught Ron's eye and grimaced.

"That sure would have been useful to know last time we were down here," muttered Ron. Hermione heard him and shot a superior smirk at Harry, then bent to whisper to Ginny, causing her to giggle. A glow of warmth toward Hermione filled Harry, as he realized how much she was trying to help Ginny get through this.

Everyone lit their wands and Harry and Ron indicated the direction and they all started down the tunnel. Soon they reached the snake skin and the rubble that still blocked the passageway. The professors gawked at the skin, but Harry stared at the small opening.

"Were we actually small enough to fit through that?" he asked incredulously, turning to Ginny. Ginny, however, was still staring at the snake skin. He took her hand and pulled her around to face him. "Ginny, it's dead, remember?" She nodded, but refused to let go of his hand.

Flitwick and McGonagall studied the rocks, then began levitating them carefully out of the way. Hermione joined in and soon they had a decent sized hole that everyone could climb through comfortably, even Ron.

"That's as far as I got last time," Ron said to Hermione, and she nodded and gave his hand a quick squeeze, then hurried up to stay close to Ginny and Harry.

Finally, after all sorts of turns, the group was standing next to the wall with the twin serpents. Harry turned to the rest of them.

"OK, it gets pretty scary after this." This was met by five wide-mouthed stares, and Ginny pressed even closer to him. He turned back to the wall and hissed again, "Open." The serpents parted and the wall moved smoothly apart, and the six of them entered the Chamber of Secrets.

Harry gave them all time to look around at the long hallway with the large serpent covered pillars. Finally he began to lead them forward again toward the end of the hall, until they were within view of the large statue of Salazar Slytherin.

"That's where Ginny was," said Harry quietly, remembering it as if it were only yesterday, "and that," gesturing to the side as they cleared the last pillar, "is the basilisk."

Harry had been expecting the others to be apprehensive, but he was not prepared for the reaction he got. There were three screams, a shout, and a "Bloody Hell!" from Ron. Ginny buried her face into his chest and the others all stared at him in shock, even Hermione. That, Harry immediately thought, was really unsettling. He was used to surprised looks from others, but this was the first time he had received this reaction from Hermione. Suddenly she rushed at him and wrapped her arms around him bringing her head to rest against his shoulder.

"Oh my God, Harry! I never knew! How did you ever do it?"

Ron had also moved up behind Harry and Harry felt his trembling hand on his shoulder. "Harry, that snake was ten times as big as you were!" Harry noticed that McGonagall was leaning against one of the pillars with her hand over her mouth, and that Flitwick was also shaking.

"I don't get it. I told you it was big." Harry was puzzled. Why were they acting like this?

"Harry, that skin back at the beginning was 20 feet long." Hermione had regained control of herself, but hadn't let go of his arm. "This thing is 40 or 50 feet. You were only twelve years old, for goodness sakes."

"Mr. Potter, I … that is …" the imperturbable McGonagall was too flustered to speak. Finally she managed, "It seems that I underestimated you, Mr. Potter. I shall try not to let it happen again. I'm sure we are all _very_ glad that you survived this encounter."

"Especially me!" said a small voice from Harry's chest. He looked down to see Ginny peering up at him with a tentative smile, and he smiled back at her. Her smile broadened and she gradually pulled away and stood up straight. Then he looked back at the others.

"Well, like I told you before, I had help. I couldn't have done it without Fawkes."

The rest of them just looked back at him shaking their heads, eventually breaking into smiles. _How could anyone be so modest?_

Harry wanted to end all the admiration that was starting to get on his nerves, so he turned to Flitwick and asked, "Shall we get started now, Professor?"

Flitwick nodded and expanded the pensieve he had been carrying to its normal size. Harry had been delighted when the diminutive charms professor had explained that he could adjust the pensieve to project the memory into the room so that everyone could see it without having to go into the bowl itself. Harry concentrated and put his wand to his head and drew out the memory.

After some thought, he decided to begin the memory at the point that he first saw Ginny, and the others agreed. He tapped the pensieve with his wand and the memory began.

"She won't wake," came a soft voice. There were gasps as his companions turned to see the young Tom Riddle leaning against a pillar.

"Tom Riddle! It really is him," came McGonagall's voice.

"Oh, my goodness, it is!" Flitwick echoed.

Without taking her eyes off the scene before them, McGonagall said to no one in particular, "He was a year ahead of me at Hogwarts. Just think …"

"And I taught him Charms," murmured Flitwick. Then they were both silent as everyone listened to Tom's conversation with Harry.

Ginny had taken Harry's hand again, and gave it an appreciative squeeze as she watched the vision Harry try to revive her younger self. She buried her head in his chest in embarrassment as they all listened to Tom describe how she had poured her heart out to the diary. She winced as she heard Tom say, _'She didn't think famous, good, great Harry Potter would ever like her …'_, then shuddered as she heard the words, _'…start pouring my soul back into her …'_

Finally she became angry as the spectral Tom kept calling her _'stupid little Ginny'_ and stood up and glared at him. She was so going to enjoy watching him die!

Everyone stood enraptured as Tom spun his tale of making the diary and then his excitement at discovering about Harry Potter. There was a sudden intake of breath as the words TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE rearranged into I AM LORD VOLDEMORT.

A cheer erupted from Ron as Fawkes swooped into the chamber carrying the Sorting Hat. Ron and Hermione looked admiringly at Harry as the Harry in the vision stood up and started insulting Riddle, and Hermione moved closer and took a hold of the arm that wasn't holding Ginny.

Harry watched very closely as Riddle went over to the statue of Slytherin. This was the part he really wanted to see. He was paying such close attention to Riddle that he didn't notice the basilisk until the frightened moans of the others heralded its emergence from the statue's mouth.

Hermione's hands became a death grip on Harry's arm and Ginny shrank further into his side as the basilisk began to attack young Harry. Ron had also moved closer to Hermione and his long arm looped around her shoulders and onto Harry's back. Unlike the rest of them, though, Harry was focusing on Riddle's actions during the battle, seeking a clue to the location of a hiding spot.

Harry turned back to that battle as Riddle started shouting at the giant serpent. Another round of screams erupted as the massive head seemed to engulf Harry's smaller self, only to fall away dead as the Sword of Gryffindor pierced its brain. Automatically, Hermione pulled away and raced toward the phantom Harry, with Ron right behind her. They pulled up sheepishly as they remembered that they were powerless to intervene in this vision. Harry noticed none of this as his attention moved back to Riddle. With the basilisk dead, Ginny managed to pull herself away from Harry's arms, but kept hold of his hand, watching intently as Fawkes healed the Harry of the vision.

Angry shouts greeted the attack by Riddle on Fawkes, then everyone was quiet as Riddle pointed the stolen wand at Harry's head, about to kill him. Suddenly Harry plunged the basilisk fang into the diary and everyone jumped as the loud piercing scream filled the chamber and Riddle began to writhe and twist in his death throes. Ginny took several steps forward, her hands clenched into fists of rage, watching her tormentor die before her eyes.

"Die! Die you bloody bastard! Die!" she shouted over and over at the fading apparition. "Harry killed you. You're gone!" Then Riddle was gone and Ginny slumped back exhausted and Harry was right behind her to catch her. As they watched the twelve year old Harry hurry over to the eleven year old Ginny and help her up and try to comfort her, the older Ginny turned to her Harry with her eyes sparkling and a shy smile appeared on her face. Harry smiled back and pulled her into a hug, then flicked his wand at the pensieve to end the memory.

Ginny wasn't the only one exhausted from the experience, and the others paused to collect themselves as Harry examined the statue of Slytherin closely. He had noticed that Riddle had paid particular attention to this statue, even after summoning the basilisk. He had made careful note of the words that had been spoken.

"_Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four._" With utmost distaste, Harry spoke the command in Parseltongue, causing the others to shudder once again. Just as before the mouth of the statue opened.

"Harry," Ron said nervously, "what if there's another one?"

Hermione, despite the emotional rollercoaster she had just been on, slipped naturally into answer mode. "No Ron, there couldn't be more than one, they would have fought each other until one killed the other."

"What if it had a mate?"

"Ron," Hermione said with only a slight amount of irritation, "basilisks don't mate. They're bred from chicken eggs hatched under toads."

There was a pause, then a simple acknowledgement from Ron. "Good."

Harry, meanwhile, had convinced himself that his suspicions were correct. There must be a chamber of some sort behind the statue. When he informed the others of his thoughts, they all looked at the hole again, the same thought on everyone's minds. _How were they to get in there?_

"Ginny might be able to fit through," offered Ron without thinking.

Immediately Ginny started whimpering, and clutched desperately onto Harry. "No … no … no …" she repeated over and over in a small voice, shaking her head. It was obvious to everyone that she was terrified, and in no condition to even consider climbing through that hole.

Hermione swallowed hard and summoned up courage she didn't know she had. She was bigger than Ginny, but much smaller than either of the boys. "I'll go through," she said with a shaking voice.

Harry reached out one hand and caught her wrist, causing her to look back at him. He looked at her with admiration in his eyes but shook his head slowly. "No, you don't have to do this."

Before Hermione could try to insist, Flitwick spoke up. "Well, if size is the important criterion, I'm the logical choice. I'll go in. Minerva, if you could levitate me please."

"No." Harry spoke forcefully, but quietly. "There must be another way. Riddle certainly didn't get in by crawling through the mouth." He turned to the two professors. "Professor Dumbledore found a hidden archway in the cave, then we had to use blood to open it. Can you detect anything like that?"

The two professors nodded, then started casting various revealing charms which Hermione observed intently. Soon the outline of an arch appeared between the feet of the giant statue. Harry stretched out his hand, calling for the sword and it appeared in front of him. Catching the handle, he quickly reversed it and drew the blade lightly across his hand. Repeating the process that Dumbledore used to open the hidden archway in the cave, he pressed his bloody hand to the glowing outline and the rock in the arch slowly vanished.

A flurry of Lumos spells lit up the new chamber as they entered the serpent's lair. Against the far wall stood a stone table, on the table a podium, and on the podium … a gleaming golden dagger. Harry nodded to Flitwick and motioned to the dagger. "Professor?" The charms master moved forward and cast an array of revealing charms, much as Harry recalled Dumbledore doing in the cave.

Eventually he turned back to the others and shook his head. "I can't detect any traps or enchantments on it. It appears to be just sitting there."

Harry gave a short laugh, startling the others who looked at him curiously. "Well, I guess a chamber that can only be opened by a Parselmouth, guarded by a forty foot basilisk was enough protection for this one." The relief in his voice was unmistakable. He reached for the dagger only to be halted by a hand on his arm.

He turned to find Ron looking at him solemnly. "Let me do it." The rest remained unspoken. If there was danger, Ron was more expendable than Harry. Although every instinct he had screamed at him to refuse, the look in Ron's eye forced him to swallow his objection and he nodded.

Ron reached out for the dagger, paused while gathering his courage, than grabbed it in one quick motion. There was an audible exhalation as everyone let out a breath that they did not realize they had been holding. Suddenly everyone was smiling, hugging, and clapping each other on the back as relief swept over the group. Harry, finding himself with one arm around Ginny and one around Hermione grinned and said, "Let's get out of here."

Eventually they made their way back to the entrance and expanded the three brooms to normal size. Ginny climbed on behind Harry, McGonagall behind Hermione, and Flitwick behind Ron and Harry led them on a flight back up the pipe to the bathroom. As they all trooped out into the second floor corridor Ron turned to the rest and inquired, "Anyone else ready for lunch?"

---------------

A/N Tom Riddle's words in this chapter are taken directly from 'The Chamber of Secrets'. Many fanfics have included the pensieve memory of the chamber of secrets. The one that I've read that is most similar to this chapter is from 'The Awakening Power' by sib-ff. That story also has Harry taking Ginny down into the chamber and showing her the memory there.


	16. Aftermath

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Thanks to Old Crow for his suggestions on this chapter.

---------------

**Chapter 16, Aftermath**

The other five were still teasing Ron as they approached the Great Hall. Along the way there had been some discussion on where to keep the dagger until they were ready to attempt to destroy it. After briefly considering the Room of Requirement, they decided that McGonagall would take it to the Headmistress's office and inquire from Dumbledore's portrait what he had done with the ring, and do the same.

Ginny was still clutching Harry's hand, with Hermione casting worried looks in her direction. Ginny's mood hadn't been improved by Ron's offhand remark while they were discussing the Horcrux, "Hey, it can't be too dangerous, Ginny carried the diary around all year." McGonagall excused herself as they entered the Great Hall and the rest made their way to the lone table. It was much like Harry remembered from the Christmas breaks he had spent at Hogwarts, with everyone together at one table. Once he had gotten over his nervousness at eating with the professors, he had found that he liked it better than the forced separation of house tables.

Madame Pomfrey eyed him carefully, as though it was so commonplace for him to require her professional services that she expected it. Without comment he held out his hand to her with a smile. "I wouldn't want to disappoint you, Ma'am". She merely shook her head at him as she quickly healed it. Then she noticed how pale Ginny was and turned to her. After hearing a carefully edited version of their morning adventure she scowled at Harry and declared that Ginny would need to rest for the afternoon and dispatched a house elf to bring her a calming potion. The remainder of the meal passed in ordinary conversation, and their foray into the chamber wasn't brought up again.

-----

That afternoon the trio decided to visit Hagrid, stopping on their way to pay their respects at the white marble tomb that was the final resting place of Albus Dumbledore. Their friend saw them coming down the hill to his hut and greeted them warmly, and soon they were seated at his table with cups of tea. After a little catching up, Hermione got down to business. "We've heard that you were the one who rescued Harry the night his parents were murdered. Could you tell us what happened?"

Hagrid replied, "Not much to say. Dumbledore told me he had a special mission for me. I was to get yeh Harry an' take yeh to the Dursleys. Dumbledore knew he could trust me with important stuff like that. Good man, Dumbledore. . . ." Hagrid got quiet and looked off into the fire.

After a moment, Harry said, "Hagrid, I need to know what happened to my parents. How you found them, what happened to their bodies, what the scene looked like when you found it."

"Well Dumbledore called me ter his office, explained that You-Know-Who had finally found your parents and gave me hand-written instructions on how to get there and what needed to be done, includin' a note ter get me past the charms.

"When I got there, they were still there, but I didn't let myself think about them; I had to protect yeh. Yeh were just lyin on the floor, cuddled up by yer mum. I just took yeh out as quick as I could. Outside yer house I ran inter Sirius. He was all upset about it all. He had a look in his face, like he felt guilty about it. He held yeh while I went back in ter bring out yer parents.

When he saw James and Lily, somethin seemed to snap. When I told him Dumbledore's instructions he jus gave yeh back ter me without sayin anything, then took off. He tole me I could take his moterbike and so I bundled yeh up and we were off. I had to keep yeh during the day cause Dumbledore wanted me to bring yeh to the Dursleys after dark. I expect yeh know the rest better'n me. I think Dumbledore arranged to have yer parents buried quiet like in the family plot.

-----

Upon returning to the castle, they were informed that Ginny was still sleeping and Ron suggested that they stay overnight. Molly was none too pleased when he flooed home to check with her, He assured her that they had not done anything dangerous, but that Ginny had been tired out and was having a nap. Molly reluctantly gave in only after receiving McGonagall's assurances that the girls would be sleeping in separate quarters from the boys, utterly embarrassing her son and his companions. She was still suspicious about Harry and Hermione's living arrangements and was not about to let Ginny get mixed up in such things. She insisted that Ginny come home first thing in the morning.

That evening Ginny was feeling much better and the four were gathered in their familiar places in the Gryffindor Common room. As the others told Ginny of their visit to Hagrid, Hermione noticed how the younger girl was snuggling up more and more to Harry.

"Ron," she said jumping to her feet. "Let's go to the library. I have something I want to take a look at."

"Aw, Hermione, come on. Can't it wait until morning?"

"No, Ron, I really think we should go look at it now," she insisted, tugging him to his feet. Once she got his attention, she glanced deliberately over at Harry and Ginny on the couch.

"Oh, right," said Ron, finally catching on. He smirked as he let Hermione lead him toward the portrait hole. "I guess we'll see you two later." He silently congratulated his brainy friend on her plan to allow Harry and Ginny some time alone together.

Suddenly he came to an abrupt stop and frowned. Did he really want to leave Harry and Ginny alone together? This thought was rudely interrupted as Hermione practically yanked his arm out of its socket. She knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Ron," she hissed. "For heaven's sake, you can trust your best friend and your sister. Now come on!" He glared at her but gave in and allowed her to drag him through the opening.

Once outside, he quickly became conscious that she was still holding his hand as they walked down the corridor to the library. When Hermione noticed what he was looking at, she flushed slightly and let go, rolling her eyes and continuing down the hall. As they walked, Ron studied his long-time friend more closely while she began a conversation about something or other. She really was rather attractive, he concluded. He wondered why he hadn't noticed it before. Perhaps he should consider asking her out sometime during the school year.

By any objective standard, Hermione _was_ more attractive this summer. It was all due to how she felt about herself. She had never considered herself to be anything but plain, and that attitude had been self-fulfilling. But knowing that Harry thought that she was attractive, even if he was only a good friend, had begun to convince her that she _was_ attractive. Consequently, she carried herself better, took a little more time to make herself look nice, and acted more sure of herself. Plus, she was smiling more than she usually did. The overall effect was quite noticeable.

Back in the common room, Ginny was delighted by her friend's maneuver. She had some things she wanted to say to Harry (and do with Harry) without her brother around. She gathered up her courage and began.

"Harry," she said softly, turning both of them so she could look into his eyes. "I really appreciate that you asked me to come today and what you're trying to do for me. Even though it was frightening, I'm glad I got to see everything that happened."

Harry gazed at the girl in front of him, taking in her fiery red hair, her creamy skin, and those deep brown eyes. He was also acutely aware of her hand stroking his arm as she expressed her gratitude.

"Ginny, I … I'm … I mean I … I was glad to do it." He really had trouble stringing thoughts together when she was looking at him like that. "It … it was nothing, really," he finished lamely.

Ginny smiled broadly, loving the effect she was having on him. "Well, it certainly wasn't nothing from my point of view. I wouldn't even be here now if not for you." She leaned forward, causing his heart rate to quicken, as she moved her hand from his arm to his chest, continuing her stroking. "I don't think I ever thanked you properly for saving my life."

As always, Harry was uncomfortable with being thanked for things like that. She could feel him tense up as he mumbled, "You don't have to do that. I just did what I had to do." He looked down, unable to meet her eyes.

Ginny hesitated. What she was about to say could either move their relationship forward or set it back. "Harry, why are you so uncomfortable with people thanking you for things? People want to be able to express their gratitude when you do nice things for them." Harry only shrugged and she could see that he was holding something inside. She pressed on.

"Look at me Harry." She moved her hand to his chin and lifted it up to look him once more in the eye. "What is it? You can tell me. You know, Hermione's not the only one you're allowed to tell stuff like this to," she finished with a smile, trying to lighten the mood.

Harry smiled back briefly. Hermione had been trying to tell him the same thing. He hesitated, then decided. He had to learn to trust more people, and the girl in front of him cared deeply for him. "I guess … I mean it's just …" He stopped and started over. "I'm not comfortable with it because that's just the way I was brought up. No one ever thanked me for anything at the Dursleys. Nothing I ever did was good enough." His head fell again.

Ginny took both of his hands in hers and tried to prompt him. "So with the way they treated you they convinced you that you never deserved to thanked?"

"I guess so."

Ginny's heart was pounding as she heard these words. On one hand, she was thrilled that Harry had opened up to her about something so personal, but on the other hand she was horrified at the way he had been treated growing up. She resolved to put that aside for later and try to keep the moment positive. "Well, Harry, I'm just going to have to convince you that you do deserve to be thanked." With that, she leaned forward, brown eyes locking with green eyes. She stopped just inches away from his face. "Thank you Harry," she breathed softly. Then she brought her lips to his and let her feelings flow into the kiss. One hand found his hair, the other his back as she pulled herself tightly against him.

Harry quickly lost all coherent thought as she deepened the kiss. His hands mirrored hers, one entwining itself in her silky hair, the other caressing her back as his arm wrapped itself around her slender frame. He gradually fell backward as she pressed forward, molding her body to his and she eventually ended up lying on top of him, never breaking the kiss. As his back hit the couch her hand moved up and caressed his face, then dropped to his chest. Harry's hands seemed to have minds of their own, roaming up and down her back and into her hair.

When they finally broke for air he gasped, and as his mind returned he became acutely aware of all the places where their bodies were in contact, his heart pounding against both his chest and hers. As she broke away she raised her head and gave him a knowing smile.

"Wow!" Considering his state of mind, Harry decided that was as eloquent as he could get.

Her smile broadened. "So, don't you agree that sometimes gratitude can be a good thing?"

Her words brought his mind back to the subject of their conversation and he grinned. "Well, I'm glad you waited." At her puzzled look he explained. "I don't think I would have appreciated that nearly as much when I was twelve and you were eleven." Ginny smiled happily. She had rarely seen this teasing side of him. It had been a struggle just to get him to relax most of the time while they were dating at school.

She giggled and kissed his nose, then dropped her head to his chest as he wrapped his arms tightly around her. "Mmm, I agree. Much better this way." She raised her head back up and smiled at him again. "I was so in awe of you back then I don't think I could have managed anything more than a quick peck on the cheek before running away in embarrassment." She pulled a hand free and touched a finger to his lips. "Now I'm not afraid of you at all." She punctuated this solemn statement with another giggle.

"Oh no? Maybe you should be afraid of me, "Harry said with an evil gleam in his eyes. He moved his hands to her sides and she grew wide-eyed as she realized what he was about to do, just before he started tickling her.

"Harry! Stop!" she shrieked, squirming as she tried to get away from his fingers. Soon she was out of breath from laughing so hard. All at once he stopped, going very still, suddenly aware that his hands had accidentally moved up under her loose tee shirt and were on soft, warm skin. Her eyes widened as she looked into his, very much aware of where his hands were and wondering if they were going to go any higher. To her disappointment, he slowly removed them, never taking his eyes off of hers. Not wanting him to be uncomfortable, she broke her gaze from his, laying her head back down on his chest and purring contentedly. After awhile, by some unspoken agreement, they sat back up and she curled up under his arm and they sat there just holding each other.

-----

"Ron, relax!" Hermione gave up trying to read the book she had found about Ravenclaw and glared up at her friend pacing back and forth in front of her table.

"Don't you think it's … well, it's probably time we were getting back, right?"

"Ron, we've only been gone a half an hour. What do you think is going to happen?" Ron had been thinking of all kinds of things that might be happening. In fact, he was trying very hard not to think of the things that he was thinking might be happening. He was also quite sure that he didn't dare say all of that to Hermione. She just shook her head and sighed. "OK, I guess they had time to talk about whatever they wanted to talk about. Let's get back. I'm not getting anything done here with you stomping around like that."

"I am not stomp … did you say talk? Do you think they're just talking?"

"No, Ron, I don't think they're just talking," Hermione said pointedly. This did not improve Ron's mood any. "Look Ron," Hermoine said exasperatedly. "You're the one who wanted them to get together. Why are you having such a problem with this?"

Ron's mouth opened and closed a few times before he answered. "I wanted them to get together, I'm just not sure I want them to _be together_, if you know what I mean. You know, doing certain things together," he finished lamely.

"Ronald Weasley! Harry is the most honorable person I know. I can't believe that you seriously think that he would …" Hermione broke off as she glared at him.

"Harry? Harry wouldn't know what to do with a girl if one hopped onto his lap half starkers. Ginny, though, I'm not so sure about."

"Stop. I don't want to hear any more." Although she wouldn't say this to Ron, Hermione had a higher opinion of Harry's romantic competence than that. She was sure, though that he would behave honorably. On the other hand, she _was_ slightly uneasy about what Ginny might want to do. "If you're that worried we'll go back. You can just deal with Harry when he's ticked off that we interrupted him."

"No problem, as long as you deal with Ginny."

"Prat."

-----

"Oooh, Hermione! We did it!"

To Ron's relief, the couple had only been cuddling together on the couch when he and Hermione returned to the common room. Sometime later, they had all headed up to bed. Now Hermione had to deal with an enthusiastic Ginny in the girl's dormitory. The girl was almost bouncing off the walls and Hermione suddenly had a very uneasy feeling in her stomach. She was pretty sure she did not want to hear this next part. Had she misjudged Harry that completely?

Ginny stopped bouncing up and down and ran over and hugged Hermione. "We did it. I got him to talk to me! He actually told me something about himself. I got him to talk about why he doesn't like people thanking him."

Hermione's relief was palpable. She returned the hug of the excited girl. "Oh, that's wonderful." This was just what she had been hoping for. But why did she suddenly feel a little saddened by the news? _I guess I'm just a little jealous because that's always been something that Harry's only done with me._

"It has to do with the Dursley's right?" Somehow, Hermione couldn't stop herself from saying this.

Ginny deflated just a little. "I guess he's already told you about it, huh?"

Hermione immediately felt guilty for what she'd said. She shouldn't have tried to spoil Ginny's success. "Oh, no, he's never said anything. I was just guessing." Ginny brightened up again.

Hermione couldn't help smiling as the two changed for bed. Ginny was so pumped up that there was no way she was going to get to sleep any time soon. "Come on, Ginny, settle down. Either Madame Pomfrey or your Mum will kill me if you're all worn out tomorrow."

Ginny turned toward Hermione from the bed. "But I haven't told you the rest yet. After that I told him I was going to thank him properly and then I kissed him." The younger witch fell back into her bed and sighed. "And then …"

"Ginny, I don't think I really want to hear a play by play description about my best friend's love life," Hermione interrupted. _Why am so uneasy about this? I've certainly listened to enough about her romantic escapades in the past. Why should it be any different with Harry?_ This line of musing was interrupted by Ginny.

"I thought _I_ was your best friend," Ginny asked teasingly.

"You're my best female friend. But you know I've been friends with Harry for longer than I've known you, and I do more things with him."

The next question was almost automatic. Even though Ginny already knew the answer, she was curious how Hermione would respond. "What about Ron?"

"No, I think I'm probably closer to Harry." Hermione evidently had taken the question seriously, and began to catalogue a list of reasons. "We have more in common, with our backgrounds. Ron and I argue too much; there's a lot of things we don't see eye to eye about. Harry's nicer to me, and he's easier to talk to. And I've been spending a lot more time with Harry this summer and …"

"Hermione!" Ginny broke in before she could continue her dissertation. "It's OK. I understand, really." There was really no denying that friendship, envy it though she might. She wondered if her otherwise brainy friend really understood how lucky she was to be so close to Harry. But that wasn't going to affect her mood tonight. Still pulsing with delight, she crawled under the blanket and hugged her pillow.

Hermione blocked out the contented sighs and occasional giggles coming from the other bed and tried to get to sleep. But something wasn't quite right. There was something missing. She reflected back on the last thing she had said to Ginny. To say she had been spending more time with Harry this summer was an understatement. Suddenly she realized what hadn't felt right. After a brief deliberation, she reached out into her bag and carefully pulled out a mirror. Realizing that Ginny was certainly still awake, she grabbed her robe and went into the bathroom.

"Harry Potter," she whispered into the mirror. Nothing happened, then she tried again a little louder.

"Hermione Granger?" Harry clearly hadn't been expecting this call. The mirror cleared and she saw his puzzled face.

Hermione smiled tentatively. "Hi." She hesitated. _Why exactly had she decided to do this?_

"What's up?" Harry didn't look or sound upset, so she went on with it.

"I wanted to say goodnight."

"You called me on the mirror just to say goodnight?"

"Yeah. Can you talk?"

"Sure, Ron's asleep already. Can you hear his snoring?" Hermione giggled. She could hear a loud buzzing sound in the background. "What about Ginny?"

"Oh no, she's still wide awake. I'm calling from the loo."

"You called me from the loo to say goodnight," Harry stated as though confirming a fact. Hermione gulped. When he put it that way, it sounded pretty silly. But she noticed that he was smiling.

"Well, um, I just felt like it. I'm so used to talking to you in the evening before going to bed that I guess I just missed it a little. You know, we really didn't get much chance to talk tonight. I mean, just the two of us. You seemed to be a little busy." Hermione added a little tease at the end, in an attempt to even things out a little.

"Well, you had something to do with that as I recall." Harry's smile grew. "Thank you, by the way. I owe you one." Hermione relaxed and smiled back. "You're right, though," Harry added after he thought a little. "I missed talking to you too. This is a pretty good idea." Hermione's smile grew. "I'm not sure about the loo part though," he teased. "Now if you wanted to call from the shower …" he raised his eyebrows and smirked.

Hermione turned bright red. _Oh, I'm going to get him for that one!_ "Be careful what you wish for, you might get it." She smirked back and raised an eyebrow of her own, silently reminding him of the pool incident two weeks previously. To her surprise, he just smiled back.

"OK, what did you want to talk about?" They proceeded to talk a little about their day, as they had become accustomed to doing in the evenings.

Just as they were about to conclude Hermione added, "You made Ginny pretty happy tonight."

Now it was Harry's turn to blush. "Oh. Uh, well, we did … I mean she …"

Hermione decided it would be a good time to step in before he got even more embarrassed. "Not that, Harry. Although I imagine that part was pretty good too, I don't need to hear the details. I mean what you said to her."

"What did I say to her? I don't remember talking that much." Harry had a blank look on his face. Hermione rolled her eyes. _Honestly, boys! Is that all they thought about?_ She huffed and started to explain when she noticed that he was grinning at her. He had been putting her on!

"Oh! You prat! I can't believe I let you fool me like that." She glared at him but couldn't hold it. He was just grinning too much and she couldn't resist joining in.

"Yeah I took your advice and opened up a little. You were right, it felt good. Thanks for that too." He paused and turned serious. "You really are great at helping me know what to do." She could see the gratitude in his eyes and smiled back at him. They wished each other good night and signed off.

As Hermione settled back into bed she stared at the ceiling for a while. That had been what she had urged him to do. It was the best thing for him. So why did she keep getting this uneasy feeling about it?

Harry likewise laid awake thinking. Part of him had wanted to say something to Hermione about what had happened with Ginny, but he wasn't sure he could. He had been very aware of where his hands had been and how his body had responded to her wiggling as he was tickling her. The way she had been looking at him, he was pretty sure she wanted him to go further than he had.

This hadn't been supposed to happen. He had broken up with her to keep her safe, and to keep himself from getting distracted from what he had to do. Now she was getting to him again. He sighed. Nothing was ever simple with his life. He wanted to get closer to her, but he knew he couldn't let her get too close or she would insist on getting more involved. He would have to limit his time with her for the rest of the summer. He had no idea what would happen if he came back to Hogwarts in the fall.

He looked around the boys' dorm at the empty beds. Every other summer at this time he absolutely couldn't wait to come back here. Now he wasn't sure he would ever be back in this dorm. And surprisingly, he found that that thought didn't bother him too much. It was as though he knew it might be time to move on. And for once, he wasn't unhappy with where he was or what he was doing with his summer. He really had no urgent desire to end it. He was quite content right now, living with Hermione and training and searching for the Horcruxes. He tried to think of what he might rather be doing, but couldn't come up with anything. It was very strange. For the first time in his life, he wasn't wishing to be somewhere else or doing something else. He yawned. Definitely …very … strange.

-----

The next morning Ginny took Hermione's portkey back to the Burrow, and Ron left to go back to work at the twins' store. Harry and Hermione decided to stay another day or two, since they still had their meeting with McGonagall, and they wanted to use the library. Shortly after breakfast they made their way back up to the Headmistress' office.

McGonagall greeted them warmly, and to their surprise, seemed a little nervous as she motioned them to sit. She first reported that she had secured the dagger in a locked compartment in the inner office, which Dumbledore's portrait had assured her was perfectly safe. Then she got down to business.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Granger," she began in a more formal tone, "I was quite disturbed to at what you said yesterday. I'm going to be very frank with you." They glanced at each other uneasily. "For the good of the school I need for both of you to come back to Hogwarts in the fall. Whether we can open or not may depend on your decision." Hermione looked at her in disbelief, which gradually lessened as she began to realize the point that the headmistress was making. Harry's look was more one of annoyance. This had the appearance of his being manipulated again, just as Dumbledore had done last year with Slughorn. McGonagall took in both of their expressions, correctly interpreting each. Accordingly she addressed her next comments to Harry.

"Mr. Potter, like it or not, you are not only the best known student at this school, but one of the most respected. I estimate that as many as half of our students' families will be influenced by your decision as they decide whether to send them back in the fall. I have actually been told this by most of the Gryffindor and not a few of the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw families." She paused to let this sink in, then added in a less serious tone. "Even two Slytherins." She noted his grimace but pressed on. "What can I do to change your minds?"

Hermione looked at Harry and waited for him to meet her eyes. When he finally did she nodded her reassurance to him and turned back to the headmistress. "First of all, Professor, Ron, Harry, and I are in this together. Whatever we decide will affect all of us." McGonagall noted the challenge in her favorite student's voice. They would not tolerate any attempts to play one against the other.

"Secondly, as you saw yesterday, we have a task that we feel is more important than our continued education. To the extent that our schooling interferes with this task, we will not hesitate to give it up." McGonagall managed to keep her thoughts to herself this time. In light of yesterday's reaction and the definitive statement Hermione had just made, any further objection on her part would only serve to alienate them further.

"I understand what you are saying even though I may not agree with you. And Albus," here she nodded to the slumbering portrait of the previous headmaster, "has persuaded me to extend you some rather unprecedented privileges. It should come as no surprise to you that you are to be named Head Boy and Head Girl and …" She broke off at this point due to the reaction of the two before her. While Hermione had the delighted expression that she had anticipated, Harry's was one of sheer astonishment. She was briefly at a loss for words at his reaction. Had he really not expected this? "Really, Mr. Potter. Why are you so shocked? Who else did you think would be Head Boy from your class?"

Harry studied his feet briefly before Hermione's hand grabbed his and he looked up to see her beaming face. "I … I don't know. I never thought it would be me. I mean, I wasn't even a prefect."

McGonagall bristled and glared briefly at Dumbledore's portrait. "Well, you certainly would have been if my recommendation had been followed." Harry felt Hermione squeeze his hand at this statement and glanced at her again. This time her face showed the pride she felt for him, but it was contending unsuccessfully with her I-told-you-so look. He couldn't help smiling back at her before turning his attention back to McGonagall

"Don't worry about it Professor. The headmaster explained that to me last year. But Head Boy …" His mind whirled. His father and mother had been Head Boy and Head Girl. He felt a return of the sense of loss he had felt at Godric's Hollow. Before he could get too down about this Hermione, who could read him like a book, tugged on his arm to bring his thoughts back to the present. "I'm sorry," he said as he returned his attention to McGonagall. "This is all overwhelming right now. But I still don't see how we can come back." He winced at the crestfallen look on the headmistress's face. "We've been working full time on this all summer and we've only found one so far. We have at least two more to find." He felt terrible about what he was saying. McGonagall really needed his help and he knew Hermione had dreamed about being Head Girl ever since she had come to Hogwarts. Maybe she could come back and he could continue the search. He glanced again at Hermione and was startled to see her glaring at him.

"Don't even think it Potter," she growled.

"How … how did you know what I was thinking," he gasped in surprise.

"Because I know you. You were about to go noble on me again. You know very well that if we work on this together we'll find them a lot faster and we can get on with things, including school. And we still have more than a month left of the summer. Let's see what our options are."

She turned to McGonagall. "You mentioned some concessions you were willing to make. What did you have in mind?" Harry was amazed with the no-nonsense tone she was taking. He wasn't the only one who had gained confidence this summer, he realized. Hermione would never have talked that way to a professor before. He suddenly recognized that he was in a similar situation to his meeting with Scrimgeour. McGonagall needed him and he was in a position to dictate the terms.

The headmistress cleared her throat and began. "You will be given a private suite of rooms. This is customary for the Head Boy and Head Girl, although they are not usually together." She gave them a stern look before proceeding. "I expect you to behave responsibly about this. You will be permitted to leave the castle whenever you deem necessary – all three of you," she amended before Harry could say anything. "You will also be permitted," here her face clearly showed her distaste for the next statement, "to miss classes if necessary." She forced a smile and looked over at Hermione. "I am not worried about Miss Granger abusing that particular privilege and I trust that she will not tolerate it from the other two of you either." She returned her attention to both of them. "I am also open to any suggestions the two of you may have regarding any other changes that you feel may be helpful."

"What about security?" Hermione asked immediately. "You need to persuade families that it's safe to send their children back here. I hope you have something more in mind than just announcing that Harry Potter is returning."

McGonagall was clearly taken aback. That remark must have hit a nerve, Hermione thought. Or maybe that really was all the reassurance that she had planned.

"Hogwarts is certainly safe, Miss Granger," she snapped. "This is one of the safest places in Britain. The wards on this school …"

"Safe?" Harry spoke for the first time. Hermione recognized the low menacing tone in his voice. This was not going to be pleasant. "Hogwarts is so safe that I've almost died every year I've been here."

"Really, Mr. Potter. I hardly think …"

"I have been repeatedly attacked here by professors and students." Harry interrupted coldly. "It may be safe from outside attack but what about those already inside?" McGonagall began to respond again but he ignored her.

"My first year, a professor let a troll into the castle that almost killed Hermione. He tried to knock me off my broom during a quidditch match. Finally he attacked me directly and tried to strangle me. All year long he was hiding Voldemort and no one here did anything about it."

"My second year a professor tried to memory charm me, then I almost died fighting a basilisk. The same basilisk nearly killed several students, including Hermione. That basilisk had been here in the castle for a thousand years and had killed a student fifty years earlier."

"My third year Hermione and I were almost killed by dementors, which had been allowed to wander onto the grounds with the full knowledge of the professors here."

"My fourth year another student and I were sent to Voldemort by a professor who turned out to be a Death Eater. The other student was killed and I barely survived."

"My fifth year other students and I were tortured by a professor, and at the end of the year I was tricked into a taking a bunch of friends into a trap because no professor bothered to explain the visions I was having."

"Last year I had to watch while a professor, who everyone knew was a Death Eater, killed the headmaster."

"With all due respect, Headmistress, we have not found Hogwarts to be a particularly safe place. If you expect me to reassure students that it is safe, something is going to have to change."

McGonagall had gradually shrunk back in her seat under the onslaught from Harry, whose eyes were blazing in fury by the time he was finished. Now she pulled herself together and attempted to reassert control. "I am truly sorry Mr. Potter. You have surely experienced more than your share of unfortunate events. And I admit that the record of our defense professors is disgraceful. Some of them should never have been hired. But it has been a most difficult post to fill."

This time it was Hermione who lashed out. "So you knowingly hired questionable people. Then what did you do? Did anyone ever check to see what they were teaching? It shouldn't have been too difficult to see that something was wrong with Quirrel and the fake Moody. It should have been obvious that Lockhart, Umbridge, and Snape were totally incompetent teachers. You should have known that Snape and Umbridge were abusing and torturing students."

"Miss Granger and Mr. Potter, I know that you have put up with a lot of abuse from certain professors, but don't you think torture is an exaggeration?"

"No, I do not!" snapped Hermione. She angrily grabbed Harry's hand and thrust it under the astonished headmistress's face. "What else would you call this?" Harry tried to cover up the scar with his other hand but Hermione slapped it away. The letters were faint but could still clearly be seen if you looked closely. _I must not tell lies_. McGonagall had a stunned look on her face as Hermione went for the kill. "And I suppose that casting the Cruciatus curse on a student is a standard disciplinary practice?"

McGonagall's head snapped back as though she were slapped. "Cru … Cruciatus?" she asked weakly. Harry noticed that Dumbledore's portrait was now awake, but remained quiet. He was startled to see an anguished look on the portrait's face that he had never seen on the headmaster in life.

"Umbridge was about to Crucio me when she caught us in her office trying to find out about Sirius before we went to the Department of Mysteries. Hermione managed to stop her just in time. She used the blood quill on at least two other students in detention besides me that I know of."

McGonagall slumped back in her chair, totally defeated. "What … what else do you want us to do?"

"Hire competent teachers and pay more attention to what's going on in the classrooms. And figure out a way to keep ALL of Voldemort's supporters out of Hogwarts, professors _and_ students." Hermione was barely repressing her anger by now. Harry was also fighting to keep his temper in check. Making a quick decision Harry rose from his chair and with a glance Hermione followed suit. With an effort he managed one more statement. "We all need to settle down and think about this some more. We'll be in the library for a while. We can discuss this some more later."

McGonagall, still in a daze, simply waved them away and watched silently as they left her office.

Finally she spoke. "Albus, what have we done?"

"We have failed them, Minerva.," the portrait responded. "It is painfully obvious that I lost sight of the primary purpose of this school. If we cannot regain their trust and convince them that things will change I fear they will not return."

---------------


	17. Negotiations

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Thanks to Old Crow and Dee for prereading this chapter.

---------------

**Chapter 17, Negotiations**

Lunchtime that day was decidedly uncomfortable. After finishing their meal in silence, Harry and Hermione approached the headmistress. "Professor, we understand that you want what's best for Hogwarts." Hermione stated calmly. "We have some ideas that we think might help that we'd like to share with you.

McGonagall visibly relaxed. "Thank you Miss Granger." Would you mind if Professor Flitwick joined us again?" After getting their agreement, she led them back to her office.

When the four of them had settled into their chairs, Hermione began, "In addition to our specific requirements, which we can discuss if we decide to return, we have some overall recommendations." McGonagall nodded for her to continue. "We have concerns in three different areas – security, academics, and overall atmosphere. First, security. You have to be able to convince parents that all of Voldemort's supporters – whether they have a Dark Mark or not – have been removed from the school. I know Professor Dumbledore wanted to give people the benefit of the doubt, but you don't have that luxury anymore."

Harry continued, "That attitude led to a student sneaking Death Eaters into the castle to kill the Professor. We know he was trying to do it all year, and two students almost died from his earlier efforts." He stared into the eyes of each of the professors. "No compromise on this."

Flitwick spoke up. "I can devise some charms to detect Dark Marks, as well as people under Imperius or taking polyjuice, but the only way to truly identify hidden supporters …"

"We cannot give students Veritaserum," interjected McGonagall. "It's against the law and the Ministry would never allow it."

"Then why was Umbridge able to give it to me?" Harry snapped. "Find a way to get around it." He was getting tired of seeing startled looks on his professors' faces every time he revealed information like this. How could they have been so out of touch with what was going on in the castle? Hermione reached over to take hold of his arm and he calmed himself down. An idea came to him. "You might contact Fred and George. I wouldn't be surprised if they could come up with a product you could use."

Hermione couldn't help the smirk that found its way to her face. "How about Truth Telling Taffy? Or maybe Veritacreams?" Harry grinned back at her, then turned back to the professors. McGonagall was fighting to keep a smile off of her face and Flitwick was beaming at the thought of working with two of his favorite students.

Hermione got serious again. "Secondly, at least in the critical subjects you have to make sure you get qualified teachers who can actually teach. For subjects like History of Magic and Divination maybe you can get away with some, er, unusual instructors." She noticed a scowl from McGonagall when she mentioned Divination and had to fight to keep a straight face. "But for what I would consider the four core subjects - Charms, Transfiguration, Defense, and Potions – you can't afford that."

McGonagall responded, "I am well aware of the miserable succession of Defense instructors we have had but Potions …"

"Was taught by a potions master who was totally unable to teach the subject to others," interrupted Hermione. "Or perhaps unwilling to teach it. In either case, anything we learned in potions was in spite of him rather than because of him. Professor Slughorn," she allowed, "while being rather full of himself, is at least competent. Now, what are you going to do about Defense?"

McGonagall was clearly not used to being spoken to in this fashion by a student, but refrained from objecting. Hermione had the upper hand in this discussion and knew it. She still couldn't believe the change in the shy, respectful girl she had known for six years. "That has always been a problem, and we are not any closer to solving it than we have been in past years. Do you have any suggestions?"

This time it was Harry who answered. It was amazing, thought McGonagall, how the two of them were coordinating this discussion. They worked so well together. She wondered, not for the first time, about the extent of their relationship.

"We've had only one good Defense professor the whole time we've been students here." Harry was saying. "Why not hire him back? I know for a fact that he's available."

"Mr. Potter, I would like nothing more than to bring back Professor Lupin. But do you really think parents would accept him? With all of the attacks by Greyback, people are more concerned about werewolves than ever."

"What about the fact that Remus Lupin was the one who _captured_ Greyback? Combine that with my wholehearted endorsement. The upperclass students certainly know how good he is. And before you bring it up, I know he'll need an assistant for the times during the full moon. So you partner him with an Auror, namely Tonks, and you have a great combination."

"I see you've put a lot of thought into this Mr. Potter," interjected Flitwick, warming to the idea. "But do you really think Miss Tonks has it in her to be a professor?"

"The two of them have been training us for the past month," responded Hermione, picking up the argument without skipping a beat. "They're great together."

McGonagall was impressed with the rationale the two had put together, but had one more concern. "Unfortunately, I seriously doubt that the Ministry will want to give up any Aurors during these times."

"If necessary, she would resign her position," countered Hermione. "She knows," she continued looking directly at Harry, "how important this is and is willing to make whatever sacrifice is necessary for Harry to succeed."

"And besides," finished Harry. "Certain things are about to change at the Ministry, and the Minister owes me a favor." McGonagall just sat looking back and forth between the two students, finding nothing more to say on the matter. Clearly there were even more facets to Harry Potter that she knew nothing about. She was beginning to wonder just who was in charge of this war.

As she continued to consider them thoughtfully, a shrewd expression suddenly appeared on her face. "I think we just might be able to work something out. Let me see what I can do."

Hermione then brought up their ideas about other courses. McGonagall immediately saw the value in an orientation course for muggleborn students and promised to implement it at once. Hermione pointed out that it would be best to have it before September 1, perhaps a session the week before in Diagon Alley, and McGonagall agreed.

The headmistress was not instantly convinced about the need for changes in Muggle Studies. It just wasn't that important of a course. She was astounded to hear that Hermione and Harry both felt that in the long term it was the most important course in the school. She was impressed by the case they made about how ignorance of the non-magical world could only be harmful to the wizarding population. While it did make sense that greater knowledge of a different culture, especially for pureblooded wizards, could help lessen misunderstanding and distrust, she found it hard to believe that wizards could be helpless in a muggle situation. Hermione would not be deterred.

"Which students normally take Muggle Studies?" she asked, beginning a new line of reasoning.

"Primarily half blood students who want to learn more about their muggle parent's heritage."

"So the pureblood students who need it the most never take the class. Not that it would do them any good anyway. Muggle Studies here is a joke!"

McGonagall clearly was not happy with that statement. She did not appreciate hearing disparaging remarks about her curriculum. "Miss Granger, surely that is an overstatement."

"Professor, I took that class for my whole third year and learned absolutely nothing. Any first year muggleborn student knows far more about muggles than the professor who teaches that class. Why, it hardly even mentions electricity!"

"So, I take it that elecktricksity is important then?"

Minerva McGonagall had perfected the scornful stare that caused students to cringe before her. Never had she had it used on her by a student. Until now. The look that Hermione sent her way made her squirm as uncomfortably as a first year.

"Madame Headmistress, with all due respect, you have no idea what should be included in Muggle Studies, and neither does any other pureblood, nor do they have any desire to find out. It makes absolutely no sense to have that course designed and taught by anyone other than a muggleborn. It would be like you teaching Divination," she paused, knowing the reaction that statement would get from McGonagall, then concluded with a dig at her best friend, "or Harry teaching Potions."

"Or Hermione giving flying lessons," countered Harry in return. The two pretended to glare at each other, but quickly broke into smiles.

McGonagall knew when she was beaten, and could not muster any indignation while Flitwick was chortling next to her. Since the two students acknowledged that this would be more of a long term problem, she agreed to begin working on it and they were satisfied. She was also intrigued by the final item on their agenda, their contention that the atmosphere created by the house rivalries was to a large extent responsible for the divisions in the school that the Sorting Hat persistently urged them to try to overcome, and they all agreed to try to think of ways to alleviate that situation.

Before they left, Harry and Hermione had an unusual request – the names and occupations of the parents of muggleborn students. Their desire for telephone numbers was met with blank stares from the professors, however. By way of explanation they stated that they wanted to visit these families and offer their personal reassurances and to ask them for assistance. Neither Flitwick nor McGonagall had any idea how muggle parents could be of assistance, but had learned during the past two days not to question the two Gryffindors. The professors agreed that personal home visits were an excellent idea, and began planning to call on the pureblood and halfblood students as well.

They both smiled as they watched Hermione drag Harry back to the library, but noted that he did not seem to be protesting as much as the student they remembered from prior years. Finally Flitwick turned to McGonagall.

"I never thought I'd say this about mere students, but I'm actually feeling confident about them leading the fight against You-Know-Who. Does that make sense?"

"It wouldn't if they really were 'mere' students, my friend. But that term no longer applies to those two, if in fact it ever did.

-----

"Well, that went about as well as could be expected," Hermione said enthusiastically as they headed for the library.

"Yeah, you were brilliant in there." Hermione smiled at this. Somehow receiving approval from Harry made her feel better than when it was from anyone else.

"You weren't so bad yourself," she responded. "Do you really think we can do something about house rivalries?" Harry noticed that she was still holding his hand, and realized that it felt perfectly natural. He gave her hand a squeeze before answering.

"We have to. There's no way the school can unite if we all distrust each other because we never really get to know each other. I had no idea what Cedric was like until we were champions together and I actually talked to him a few times. I would have loved to have been able to know him better. And Cho was nothing more than a pretty face on a broom. I never knew her very well at all before we started dating. When we started the DA there were kids there who I didn't even know the names of, and they'd been in my year for four years!"

"We really need more activities like the DA, that bring different houses together," Hermione mused. "Should we start it up again, do you think?"

"_If_ we come back we should give it serious consideration," Harry replied, reminding her that their return was by no means certain. But I think it's a good idea. Maybe Neville, Ginny, and Luna can start it up again."

"Maybe, but without you leading it I doubt that it will be as good," Hermione pointed out. Harry glanced over at her sharply, suspecting that she was teasing him. "No, really," protested Hermione, sensing his concern. "You were great at it! Everyone was willing to listen to you because they respected you …"

"Only because of you talking me up to everyone!"

"In any case, it's true. And you were also great at showing us how to do spells. You were always going around helping people out individually." Harry was looking down sheepishly shaking his head. "Really, Harry, you are a great teacher. You know how well everyone did on their OWLs just because of you."

"Because of _us_ you mean. You helped out a lot too, looking up all those spells." Hermione smiled happily, satisfied that she had finally convinced him, even if he had insisted on sharing the credit.

"Do you want to stay another night?" Harry asked. They had finally reached the library, and paused before going in.

"Not really. I don't fancy sleeping in an empty tower, even if I can talk to you on a mirror. Let's do as much in here as we can for the rest of the day, then go home."

"Sounds good. Too bad I didn't get a chance to ask Dumbledore's portrait about my mum. Strange that he wasn't there today." Shrugging his shoulders at the thought, Harry followed Hermione into the library and was soon busy carrying books for her.

-----

With the slightest of pops Harry and Hermione appeared in the back room of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, startling Ron who had been retrieving some stock.

"Augh! Bloody hell, mate, don't do that!" Quickly Ron regained his composure. "How'd it go with McGonagall yesterday?"

"Pretty well. We'll tell you about it later. Get Fred and George back here, we need to talk." As Ron left the room, Harry called Dobby. When the enthusiastic little elf appeared he asked him to try to find Viktor Krum and ask him to join them. Then he stopped to look around, remembering the last time he had been in this room.

"Hey partner, what's up? Want to see our new products? We have …" Fred stopped quickly as he noticed the look on Harry's face. George moved alongside him and was about to ask what was the matter when Harry spoke up.

"How's Lee?"

Fred and George immediately became serious. "Not good at all. He's still in a coma. They said there are some specialists that might be able to help, but his family's not that well off. We've been trying to help out."

By this time Dobby had returned with Viktor, and the Bulgarian stood silently listening to the conversation. Harry responded immediately. "No, let me take care of it. Dobby, go see Griphook and tell him to make sure that Lee Jordan in St. Mungo's has whatever medical care he needs." Turning to Viktor, he added, "That goes for anyone who you hire. If they get injured, we pay all of their healing expenses. Whatever it takes." Viktor simply nodded. His respect for Harry Potter continued to grow every time he saw him. He felt even more certain that he had made the right decision in joining the younger wizard.

Viktor briefly filled in the rest of them on what he had accomplished since joining the ministry. Fred and George were temporarily awed by the thought that the famous seeker was effectively working for their friend Harry.

Harry turned to them next, saying something that immediately brought them out of their daze. "How would you guys like to work with us too?"

"Harry!" began Fred. "Partner!" added George. "When do we start?" they both chimed in together. "You need stuff to fight Death Eaters, just let us know and it's yours."

"That's only one part of it. I do want the three of you, no make that four of you," he said, initially gesturing to Fred, George, and Viktor, but then including Ron also, "to get your heads together and develop whatever you think might be effective against Death Eaters. But I also want the two of you to think about developing weapons to use against other dark creatures that Voldemort might use."

"Like giants, vampires, werewolves, dragons, whatever he might be recruiting," added Hermione. Fred and George had almost forgotten that she was there, but now she joined in the conversation, smoothly filling in the details for Harry.

Fred and George thought about this and frowned. "Giants and dragons are pretty tough. Giants are especially resistant to magic."

"This is where you need to think outside the box," suggested Harry.

At their blank looks Hermione chipped in, "Thinking outside the box means looking at problems differently than other people do."

At this Ron snorted. "Well, no one ever accused those two of thinking like normal people."

Fred and George tried to look affronted at this but failed. After the laughter had died down, Harry spoke up. "We think one of the advantages we have against Voldemort and his Death Eaters is our ability to use muggle ideas. Hermione, how would a muggle attack a giant or a troll?"

Hermione shrugged. "Probably use a high caliber cannon or rocket launcher with armor piercing or high explosive shells."

"And a dragon?"

"Heat seeking missile maybe?"

The others had blank looks but Harry pressed on. "What about a vampire?"

"Everyone knows that – a stake to the heart. You could make some sort of accurate projectile weapon that shoots wooden spears," Hermione said, thinking aloud. Then she grinned. "I think I just described a large bow and arrow."

Ron interjected, "Oh like Hagrid's crossbow."

"Exactly. Hagrid can't use magic so he uses a non-magical weapon. If you make something like that big enough it could shoot wooden stakes."

For the first time Viktor spoke up. "You want to use the best ideas, no matter where they come from. Apparently muggles have developed some impressive weapons."

"You have no idea. If there's anything muggles are good at it's coming up with exotic ways to kill each other."

Everyone shuddered, but Viktor continued, "then we need to make use of this knowledge. How are we going to do that?"

"Hermione and I got a list of muggleborns from McGonagall. Their parents could be of use to us. They already know about the magical world, so we wouldn't be breaking any secrecy laws, but they also know about muggle stuff. If we can find some who are in the military, or law enforcement …"

"Or information technology, "Hermione continued. "Muggles have developed very good methods of organizing and analyzing data that could be useful to Viktor in his task of tracking Death Eaters. Harry and I are going to visit muggleborn students and their families and we'll see who we can recruit. Meantime, we should see about leasing some office space where they can work and we can meet with them." The others looked confused at this so she quickly explained. "We can't bring muggles into the Ministry, so we need a different building."

"It would be best if it were as close as possible to the Ministry though," said Harry, picking up the thought. "I'll ask the goblins to see if they can find anything."

This concluded the information that they wanted to share, and Harry moved away with the twins and Ron. Viktor approached Hermione with an amused look on his face.

"You and Harry make quite a pair."

Hermione flushed slightly. "Oh Viktor, not this again. How many times do I have to tell you, we're …"

"You misunderstand me," Viktor broke in, although from the look on his face Hermione was pretty sure the 'misunderstanding' was intentional on his part. "I meant that you work well together. Was that rehearsed?"

"Well, we discussed what we were going to bring up but …"

"You each seem to know what the other is thinking. You speak as two people with a single mind."

"Oh." Hermione frowned slightly, thinking about what he was saying. "That's gone on as long as we've known each other, I guess. I've often known what he was thinking about things and he's always been able to read me pretty well too. The taking turns talking part seems to be happening more this summer since we've been doing everything together. Reading each other's thoughts comes in very handy when we're dueling as partners," she added, with a pleased expression.

"You might want to pursue that ability. I have heard of a few wizards who are able to exchange thoughts. It is very rare but may turn out to be useful to you."

Hermione said nothing, but stared thoughtfully at her friend as he walked away to rejoin the others.

-----

The next week was a very busy one as Harry and Hermione began visiting families of muggleborn students. It turned out that thirty of approximately three hundred students at Hogwarts were muggleborn, roughly evenly divided among Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw houses. They had identified a programmer and a systems analyst among Ravenclaw parents, a police inspector parent of a Hufflepuff and a military parent of a Gryffindor. Hermione had pointed out that her father's military service wouldn't have turned up in Hogwarts records, so they were hopeful of finding more parents with military experience.

They had decided to start with people they knew, so their first two visits were to Dean Thomas's family and to the Creeveys. They quickly developed a short presentation and standard responses to the inevitable questions. With regard to their own plans, they assured the families that they hoped to attend in the fall, but that they were working on an independent study project that might delay their return to Hogwarts. Colin and Dennis were both delighted to hear that the two of them were to be Head Boy and Girl. Dean's response was more subdued, which Harry realized was due to the situation with Ginny at the end of the last school year. Harry was not happy with the thought of what Dean's response would be if Ginny returned to Hogwarts without him.

Hermione's offer to ward the homes of these families in the same way that she had protected the Granger home was met with enthusiasm born of desperation. Their hearts went out to these families, who were terrified of a world they didn't really understand, but who wanted to do the best thing for their children. They were touched by how much better these people felt as a result of their visits and the reassurance they provided, as Harry realized that they didn't like being kept in the dark any more than he did.

In the end, every parent that they asked for assistance was willing to do whatever they could for them, even going so far as to take leaves of absence from their places of employment. There were even many unsolicited offers of any help they could use, and the duo assured these folks that they would be sure to let them know if anything came up. In each case, they concluded by pleading with the families to keep their visit quiet so as not to put anyone else in danger. They knew they were taking a chance by having Hermione along when she was supposed to be out of the country, but they thought that this search was important enough to risk it.

They did discover a Gryffindor grandparent who was a retired army officer, but they still were hoping for more weapons specialists and others with technical skills. Toward this end Harry dispatched Dobby to Hogwarts to request a list of parents of former muggleborn students going back twenty years. All in all, Harry thought as they finished their visits, things were going pretty well.

-----

Thursday, July 31

"Good morning birthday boy!"

Harry's eyes flew open and he looked up to see Hermione coming through his bedroom door carrying a tray with his favorite breakfast on it. His attention was drawn, however, by what she was wearing as she brought the breakfast over to him. She had on summer pajamas that consisted of a camisole top and short bottoms, both made of lightweight cotton. The top caught his eye because of a certain … movement. A movement that he found mesmerizing.

"Would you be more comfortable if I changed into something else?" He looked up to see Hermione smirking at him. Busted!

"No! … Yes! … I mean …" His face turned red as he tried to decide which answer would get him into less trouble.

Hermione smiled at him as she set the tray down and leaned forward to take his hands. "Harry, that's OK …" she trailed off as she noticed him struggling to look her in the eye and realized the show she was giving him by leaning forward in the loose top. Now it was her turn to blush as she jumped away. "Just a minute," she mumbled as she crossed over to his closet. She grabbed one of his tee shirts and pulled it over her head, then came back to the bed.

"Sorry," Harry began.

"No, it's my fault." Hermione corrected. "It's just that I've gotten so comfortable around you that I sometimes forget that you are still a sixteen year old – no, make that a _seventeen_ year old boy." She smiled and was happy to see him relax. _'Admit it Hermione, you enjoyed that,'_ an annoying voice in her head insisted. She shook her head slightly and saw a confused expression on his face as he noticed the motion. "But," she quickly recovered, "you've seen me in a tank top lots of times." She knew very well what the difference was but it was the best she could come up with. Besides, part of her wanted to hear what he would say.

"Well," he hesitated, then decided he wasn't going to get hexed. "That one's a lot looser than the ones you usually wear and …" he gestured toward her breasts.

"Harry, sit up and eat your breakfast before it gets cold and I'll clue you in about women's sleepwear."

"Breakfast in bed? I feel like royalty."

"Well, that was always a tradition in my house. Mum and I would make breakfast in bed for Dad for his birthday …" she stopped as she thought about her parents and where they were. Harry saw her expression change and her eyes start to moisten and moved forward quickly to give her a hug.

"Hey, it's OK. I know you miss them. I do too. It'll be OK really. They'll be back before you know it." He kept hugging her until she relaxed and pulled away, wiping her eyes.

"Thanks, Harry. I know they're all right. Sometimes certain things just remind me of them."

"Hey, let's call them up later. Figure out the time difference and when would be the right time."

"Well, if we wanted to get them in the morning we should call early in the afternoon. We'll be kind of busy this afternoon so let's do it tomorrow."

"Busy?"

"Your birthday party at the Weasleys, you idiot!" He just grinned at her and she realized he had been putting her on, so she threw a pillow at him. She smiled back and made herself comfortable at the other end of the bed as he turned his attention back to the breakfast.

"Now, to continue your education into women's clothing," she said, picking up the previous subject. He looked up attentively. "During the day, when we're being active, we need support," she motioned to her chest and he nodded understandingly, "so we wear a bra. Or something tight, like my workout tops or my tank tops. But that gets uncomfortable eventually so at night we wear stuff that's looser. Almost no one wears a bra to bed normally." She could see puzzlement on his face. "While we're at Hogwarts most of us wear heavy nightgowns because it gets cold at night, and we usually wear robes in the common room. That's why you probably didn't notice before. But they're still loose and comfortable. Think about what you're wearing right now. You like to wear something to bed that's loose too, right?"

Harry had been sleeping in a pair of loose shorts and no shirt. As she looked at him she realized how much his body had changed this summer. Getting enough to eat, combined with the running, swimming, and weightlifting, had developed a nice set of muscles on him. From his broad shoulders to his narrow waist he had the look of the swimmers she had admired on TV during the Olympics last year. He was certainly no longer skinny!

"Would _you_ be more comfortable if _I_ put a shirt on?" She jerked back, startled, and began blushing furiously as she realized she had been staring at his chest. Now it was her turn to be embarrassed. She looked up to see him smirking.

"I was just saying that it'll be harder to keep my thoughts under control in the evenings in the common room this year, but it looks like you might be having the same problem."

_Oh, he really has me this time, _Hermione thought furiously._ I need to retake the initiative here. _ "Well, Harry, I was just noticing how much you've shaped up this summer. If you want to make a bunch of Gryffindor girls drool, try wearing that outfit in the common room some evening." At the shocked look on his face she couldn't help but giggle. "Honestly, Harry, have you looked in a mirror lately? You've turned yourself into a real hunk. If you thought you had trouble with all the girls after you last year … Ginny's going to have a full time job fighting them off." A naughty look came over her face. "Of course, we may have to tie Ginny up to keep _her_ hands off of you." She burst out laughing at the mixed expressions of worry and delight that were battling for possession of his face.

Harry apparently also thought the best defense was a good offense. "Oh? Well if you want to give a few Gryffindor guys heart attacks, show up some evening in _that_ outfit. I can just imagine the look on Neville's face if you leaned over him helping him with his homework wearing that top."

She looked down shyly but inside she was thrilled to hear what he thought of her. "I guess I gave you quite a show, huh?"

"Quite a show." Harry agreed. He suddenly felt his body respond to that thought and the fact that an attractive girl was sitting on his bed in her pajamas. _What's wrong with me? Seventeen year old boy or not, I shouldn't be thinking about her like this. What happened to that sister idea? I'm sure this doesn't happen to Ron when he sees Ginny in her pajamas. _He adjusted the blanket around him carefully and decided to change the subject. "Do you really think we should go back?"

"I don't know. There would certainly be some advantages, but I don't think we can be there and not go to class. It all depends on how much time we need to spend on the horcruxes. Let's wait another couple weeks before we decide for sure."

---------------

A/N A lot of readers seem to have decided that this is going to be a Harry/Hermione romance and want them to just come out and say they love each other and get it over with. Sorry, life isn't that simple. Falling in love is a marathon, not a sprint, and frankly, Ginny has a big head start in this race. Even if you think you've figured out what's going to happen, no one knows for sure how this is going to end, not even my beta readers. I'll just say that there's a long way to go before these relationships get resolved.


	18. Birthday Surprises

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Thanks to Old Crow and Dee for prereading this chapter.

---------------

**Chapter 18, Birthday Surprises**

The first order of business that morning was a visit to Gringotts. This was the day that he would finally get access to the Potter vault. Bill had sent word that he had also completed the inventory of the Black vault. Getting there was a challenge. First Hermione, in her blonde disguise, apparated to Fred and George's shop where she was met by Ron and Tonks and the three of them were able to make their way to Gringotts without attracting any undue attention. Not so for Harry. Even with his concealment cloak he was recognized several times as he and Remus followed a few minutes later. Fortunately, they entered the wizarding bank before any reporters showed up, having only to deal with a few wellwishers. Once in the bank the goblins skillfully discouraged any further interruptions.

As Griphook led them to the tunnels, Bill handed him several pages of parchments with a listing of the contents of the Black vault as well as an entire sheaf of parchment detailing the Potter holdings. Just as they got into the little carts to head to the vaults, Bill also told him with a raised eyebrow that Ragnok wanted to speak with him when he was finished at the vaults.

This was Ron's first trip down to Harry's vault, and he was delighted with the rollercoaster type ride. Hermione, on the other hand, merely closed her eyes and clutched tightly onto Harry's arm just as she had done the last time. Tonks whooped and hollered during the ride as Remus did his best to pretend he didn't know the crazy witch riding in the cart with him.

The Potter vault was just a little farther down than the Black vault, but was twice the size. As Griphook produced a key that was considerably more ornate and much larger than Harry's original vault key, Ron just stood gaping at the carvings on the vault door and at the forbidding lock itself. With a creaking noise revealing more than a decade of disuse, the door slowly opened and the three teens and two adults stepped inside.

It was an enormous room, with the look of a natural cave that had been smoothed out. An enormous alcove was filled with Galleons, with some Sickles and Knuts mixed in. One wall had a large collection of weapons and wall ornaments, including tapestries, paintings, portraits, and assorted decorative items. Several shelves of rare-seeming books lined another wall. There were also several large chests filled with jewelry, various documents, and several magical items. Along with all this, scattered around the vault were some objects not immediately identifiable.

Harry found his eye caught by the jewelry collection, which included rings, pins, and necklaces, many of which had charms on them, and also by the collection of weapons. At Hermione's suggestion he decided that it would be easiest to refer to the parchments to figure out what was what. As he and Remus began to scan the Potter list, Ron and Hermione started on the Black list, with Tonks looking over their shoulders.

Ron made the first significant discovery. "Harry! You have another invisibility cloak!" This was good news indeed. It was the one thing they had been so far unable to purchase.

"Good news, Ron. That one can be yours." Sensing Ron start to object, Harry reasoned, "well, Hermione and I can fit under my cloak a lot easier than you and I can, so it makes sense that you get it instead of her." Ron was unable to find fault with that argument and besides, he always did want an invisibility cloak, so he returned to the list.

"I own a castle?" This time it was Harry who spoke up. At the end of a list of properties owned by the Potters was the name and a detailed description of a castle. Ron came hurrying over to look over his shoulder as he read the description.

"Now that you mention it, I do remember James saying something about that," mused Remus. "He said it was empty and hadn't been used in a long time as far as he knew."

"Bloody hell! Harry, it even has a dungeon. And a courtyard and a great hall and a separate ballroom. Harry, you can even hold your own Yule Ball." Ron laughed at Harry's grimace as he recalled his last Yule Ball. "And how many – ten, fifteen, twenty – twenty bedrooms, Harry. We could hold a Weasley family reunion there and still have room to spare." Harry, however, was having other thoughts about the uses of a castle when suddenly a gasp came from Hermione.

"H…Harry. Look at this." Hermione was pale and trembling and Tonks was standing there in shock. Harry hurried over to her, the castle forgotten for the moment. Hermione's shaking finger was pointed to an entry among the Black family jewelry. Listed there was a locket with a miniature carving of a snake and a large, ornate S. "It couldn't be. Could it?" She looked up at Harry hopefully.

"He put it in the family vault? Why didn't we think of that before!" Before he knew it he was the subject of a fierce hug from Hermione, and he returned it just as strongly, actually twirling her around once before letting go. Meanwhile Ron had run over and picked up the parchment where Hermione had dropped it, just in time to be grabbed in a Granger hug of his own. Remus and Tonks were enthusiastically slapping the teens on the back, then Tonks managed to get in a few hugs, too.

"OK, OK, let's just calm down and finish up here, then we'll go get it," announced Harry, trying to get them all settled down again. "Take a look at these weapons you two and each pick something out. I already have the sword, but you guys should have something too."

Tonks led them to the wall of weapons and carefully inspected each one before letting them touch anything. Ron eagerly looked through the collection of swords, daggers, and knives and picked out a sword and scabbard. He strapped it onto his waist and as he pulled his hands away it immediately shrank. "Hey that's pretty cool. It's charmed to be out of the way when you're not using it. I wonder if we can make it invisible, too?" As he was examining his new weapon more carefully Harry turned his attention to Hermione.

Somewhat more reluctantly, she carefully examined the array of blades, finally selecting a jeweled dagger. Harry noted that it was similar in size to the golden dagger of Rowena Ravenclaw, and realized that it too had been designed for a woman's use. Tonks and Remus each picked out a dagger as well.

"Hermione, could you look at this jewelry next? Some of the rings or necklaces are supposed to have protective charms on them. Maybe we can each take one and distribute some to our friends." Hermione and Remus put their heads together and studied Harry's list, while Ron and Tonks continued to peruse the Black parchments. Harry looked around at the rest of the vault for a while.

"There's a few of those in the Black vault, too," declared Ron. "Most of them are cursed, but Bill's notes say that a few of them have good charms on them. Harry acknowledged this and returned to his browsing. Soon the rest of them had collected all the charmed rings and necklaces they wanted and were ready to go.

At the last minute, Harry grabbed a set of throwing knives that had caught his eye. At Ron's questioning look he explained, "I thought Ginny might like these. She's pretty accurate at throwing a quaffle, so I thought she might be good with knives."

Ron groaned. "Don't remind me. She used to throw stuff at me all the time when she got mad. Deadly accurate, too. Could hit me in the head from just about any angle." Hermione giggled at this and Ron glared at her before looking back at Harry. "You better not let Mum see them though." Tonks and Remus shared a grin at this but didn't say anything. Harry agreed and they left the Potter vault.

Griphook appeared and they returned to the carts and were soon at the Black vault. Although Harry and Hermione had been here once before, this was Ron's first time in this vault as well, and he explored while the rest of them looked for the locket. Fortunately, the listing was very precise as to location and description and they soon found it. Before they could touch it Ron appeared beside them and insisted on doing the honors again. He carefully picked it up and held it for them all to see. It matched perfectly the one Harry remembered from the pensieve memory.

"That's it!" he shouted, and another round of hugs ensued. After they had regained their composure, Hermione and Remus, consulting the parchment list of the other jewelry, carefully picked out the charmed necklaces and rings that they wanted. Soon they were ready to return to the surface.

-----

When they entered the lobby, another goblin was waiting to escort him to meet with Ragnok. Harry told Ron and Hermione to take the locket to Bill and have him check it for curses, then have him take it to McGonagall. He figured that between the two of them they would be able to come up with a way to keep the true nature of the locket secret from Bill, and turned to follow the goblin while Tonks and Remus waited in the lobby.

"Good morning sir," Harry greeted the head goblin, causing the assistant goblin to look at him strangely. Harry noted the look and wondered if he was as famous with goblins as he was with wizards.

"Good morning, Mr. Potter. I hope your visit to your vaults was a profitable one."

"It was indeed. Thank you so much for your bank's assistance. It has been most helpful to us."

"I am glad to hear it. I believe that what I have for you here may be of even more assistance." He handed Harry a sealed packet. Harry looked puzzled for a moment, then recalled his final request of the head goblin at their first meeting.

Harry bowed to him and replied, "I am sure that any assistance that you may provide will prove very valuable. Thank you again for your efforts on my behalf." Ragnok gave a slight bow and the assistant ushered them from the room.

After leaving them in the lobby, the goblin looked after him intently, then returned to the office of the head goblin. Bowing low before his superior, he asked, "Master Ragnok, may I be permitted to make an observation?"

"You may, Bladrok."

"Mr. Potter is a very unusual wizard."

"Indeed he is, Bladrok, indeed he is. Are you familiar with the contents of the document we prepared for Mr. Potter?"

"I am. I supervised its preparation. This is an unprecedented step that we are taking."

"It was not a decision to be made lightly. It is because he is most unusual that I have decided to aid him in his battle against the dark lord. If he is victorious it will be most profitable for us."

-----

Their exit from Gringotts was not as uneventful as their entrance. Word had spread of Harry Potter's presence and there was a crowd of onlookers jostling for a glimpse of the Chosen One. To make matters worse, some reporters had turned up. Sighing with disgust mixed with resignation, Harry quickly motioned to Ron and Hermione to stay out of sight and plunged into the crowd with Remus and Tonks. Ignoring the questions of the reporters, who asked everything from whether he was after the Minister of Magic's job to how he was planning to celebrate his birthday to the current state of his love life, he finally made it out to Diagon Alley and back to the twins' shop. When Ron and Hermione finally caught up with him, he had secluded himself in their back room and was reading the parchment from Ragnok. However, his mood had changed immensely.

With a grin on his face he handed to parchment to Hermione, and she began reading it as Ron looked over her shoulder. Harry enjoyed watching as her face cycled from curiosity, to interest, to satisfaction, to astonishment, finishing with wide-eyed excitement.

"Harry! This is fantastic!" Hermione squealed as she launched herself at him. A few seconds later Ron finished reading as well.

"Bloody hell!" Ron followed Hermione's example, reaching around her to congratulate Harry, and making an impromptu sandwich out of her.

"Mmph, Ron let me out!" A well placed elbow to the ribs gained her some breathing room. Harry, still grinning, retrieved the parchment and held it out so they could all study it.

_Mr. Potter,_

_We hope that the following information may be of some use to you._

_Tom Riddle held a vault at Gringotts from 1945 through 1981, when it was seized by the Ministry after your first encounter with him resulted in his disappearance. The following items were stored in that vault at one time or another during that period:_

_A cup that once belonged to Helga Hufflepuff_

_A dagger that once belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw_

_A locket that once belonged to Salazar Slytherin_

_A sword that once belonged to Godric Gryffindor_

_You may be further interested in the fact that the same Hufflepuff cup resided briefly in a vault belonging to the Crouch family._

_Your humble servant,_

_Ragnok_

Hermione was still bouncing with excitement. "That's the last one. It must have been Barty Crouch, Jr. who had it. All we need to do is figure out what he did with it."

Ron did not seem to be paying attention, however. Harry noticed that he had a thoughtful look on his face and motioned to Hermione. Hermione immediately calmed down and looked over at Ron expectantly.

"Winky." Ron finally looked up at them, then repeated his unexpected comment. "Winky."

Seeing their blank looks, which startled him a little since it was usually the other way around, he smiled triumphantly and explained. "Winky was the Crouch family house elf. She can tell us whether it was ever in their mansion, and maybe what happened to it. We have to be careful the way we ask it, though. She still considers them her masters to some extent. We'll have to phrase it in a way that it seems like we're trying to help them."

"You mean like, 'There might be a cursed object in the house and we want to get rid of it?'" Harry offered. Ron nodded. Harry noticed that Hermione was being uncharacteristically silent, and glanced at her questioningly. Seeing his concern, she smiled reassuringly at him and sighed, then turned to Ron.

"That was a brilliant analysis, Ron. You better not make a habit of that or I'll start to think that you don't need me around anymore."

Ron started to apologize and assure her that they did in fact need her around very much when he noticed the grins on both of his friends' faces and realized she was teasing him.

"That's right Hermione," he shot back good-naturedly. "You better watch out. I'm going to be getting my NEWTs in runes and arithmency before we go back to school. They're both mostly analytical reasoning you know. I'll be glad to tutor you if you need it though." That comment broke them all up and they shared a good laugh before leaving the shop to get ready for the afternoon.

-----

Not wanting to put up with Mrs. Weasley's scowls all afternoon, Hermione chose a simple tee shirt and jeans for the afternoon. Even so, she happily noted that they fit her quite snugly as she checked herself in the mirror before they left the house. She glanced up in the mirror to see Harry smirking at her and felt herself color slightly.

"Don't worry, you look great in whatever you wear," he said teasingly. She playfully hit him in the arm, but smiled happily at the compliment.

"You don't look too bad yourself," she returned. He was dressed in a tee shirt and jeans also, one of his 'chocolate' shirts that made her roll her eyes every time she saw it. "Hoping for a little chocolate kiss this afternoon?" He colored a little himself and shrugged. It was hopeless, he thought. He _never_ won one of these teasing battles. He took her hand and they smoothly disapparated with barely a sound.

Hermione had told Harry that the Weasleys were planning a small birthday gathering for him that afternoon. He decided that she was working with a completely different definition of the word 'small' than he was. In addition to the whole Weasley family besides Percy, including Bill and Fleur, McGonagall, Flitwick, Hagrid, and Pomfrey from Hogwarts were present. He also spotted Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet, presumably there with Fred and George, as well as Neville and his grandmother, Luna and her father, Tonks and Remus, and a few other members of the Order of the Phoenix that had helped guard Harry over the years, including his former neighbor Mrs. Figg. He was very glad to see that Mundungus Fletcher was not among them. He had never forgiven the unscrupulous thief for stealing stuff from Sirius.

As soon as Harry and Hermione arrived Ginny rushed out to give him a hug. "Harry, where have you been? We haven't seen you in more than a week."

"Uh, we've been pretty busy," Harry stammered, looking over to Hermione for support. He didn't really want to tell Ginny he was avoiding her for fear of getting too close.

Hermione frowned at him but spoke up. "We've been doing something for Professor McGonagall. She had us working on a project that took a whole week." She gave Harry a look that told him that the two of them would be discussing this later. "But wait until you hear what we found this morning."

Ginny's annoyance instantly dissipated at the opportunity to be treated as a confidant. They quickly found Ron and headed into the house to talk privately.

Ginny was bouncing with excitement by the time they had concluded the tale. Harry, though, had more on his mind. He pulled out several of the charmed necklaces and rings that they had removed from the vault and insisted that they each take one. While most of the necklaces looked like they were made for women, some of the rings were definitely masculine. He picked out one of these and Ron picked out another. Hermione chose a necklace. Ginny was undecided. One of the necklaces really appealed to her, but on the other hand she rather liked the idea of having a ring from Harry! When Ron commented that he would have to make sure not to wear his ring around Molly, she realized that that would be even more of a problem for her, and chose a long silver pendant with a sparkling emerald set in a medallion at the bottom that could easily be hidden under her shirt or robes if necessary.

Hermione found her necklace fascinating. It was on a long gold chain, and it held a cross shaped symbol with four equal length arms and a red gemstone in the center. She couldn't recall seeing anything like it in the wizarding world and found the idea of wearing a protective cross necklace comforting.

As Harry put his ring on it glowed briefly and Hermione gasped. She shook her head at his inquiring look and he turned back and took it off to examine it more closely, missing the blush that spread across Hermione's face. Hidden from view inside her shirt, her gemstone had also glowed at the instant that he put his ring on, creating a warm feeling where it rested on her chest that quickly spread out to the sides, almost like a caress. She didn't dare tell any of them that Harry had created that feeling in that particular area of her anatomy! _'Or that you enjoyed it_' said the annoying voice in her head.

Harry's ring was gold as well, inlaid with a red gemstone that Hermione now realized was identical to her own. As he looked at it he noticed some runes inscribed along the inside and asked Hermione if she could translate them. She immediately recognized the rune for power and was trying to work out the rest when a sly grin crossed her face. "Let's see," she began, "One ring … to rule … them all …" She peered up under her eyebrows at Harry to see if he was catching on.

Harry frowned, then his face broke into a grin. "One ring to find them?" he responded.

"One ring to bring them all," Hermione continued, "and in the darkness bind them," they finished together and burst out laughing.

Ginny and Ron were starting to get used to this behavior from their friends. "Which movie is it this time?" inquired Ron in exasperation.

"No, this is from a book – a series of books actually. Harry's started to read them this summer."

Harry thought for a minute. "Don't you think Gandalf is a lot like Dumbledore? Powerful, all-knowing. Leading the fight against the dark lord even though no one wants to believe him."

"Sticking poor Frodo with a burden that he never wanted?" Hermione responded, suddenly growing serious. "You're a little like Frodo, you know. Nobly accepting the quest, determined to see it through no matter the odds."

"Along with his trusted friend who never leaves his side?" asked Harry softly. Hermione suddenly felt the need to study her shoes.

"Hello! You two are doing it again." They whirled around to see Ron grinning at them, while Ginny had a puzzled look on her face. "Going off in your own world and forgetting that there's anyone else in the room."

Harry and Hermione looked at each other sheepishly.

"The ring?" Ron prompted.

"Oh." Hermione quickly recovered her thoughts. "I think it's some kind of power ring. It seems designed to temporarily boost the wearer's power levels. You shouldn't wear it all the time," she added, trying to hide the embarrassed look that crossed her face. "Only put it on when you really need it." Harry wondered at her expression, but decided not to pursue it. Hermione turned her attention to Ron's ring and Ginny's pendant, and eventually declared that theirs had charms that would reduce the effects of curses and hexes.

-----

Harry was having a marvelous time at the party, and had managed to talk with nearly every one of his friends. They had all brought small simple gifts, mostly books. Apparently everyone thought he should specialize in defense against the dark arts, as nearly every one was on that topic. To his delight, Hermione had given him his own set of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. As he opened it she commented tongue in cheek that now she wouldn't have to worry about him messing up her copy by folding down the corners of the pages.

As he finished the presents Fleur approached with a devious look on her face. "It is a tradition in my country," she announced to everyone, "for all the girls to give the wizard a kiss on his seventeenth birthday and tell him how much he means to them." Before Harry could move or object she was right in front of him. "I shall go first."

She startled Harry with a passionate kiss that took his breath away, to the accompaniment of whoops and hollers from the males present. Fleur stepped back and said, "I have wanted to do that for two years," which generated more laughter from the others. Then she leaned closer and said in a low voice only Harry could hear. "Thank you for accepting me. I know what you told the others and I am grateful. You must know that Bill and I will do whatever we can to help you." Harry nodded and she continued. "Here is my advice to you." She motioned over to where Ginny stood by Hermione. "You must follow your heart."

As she stepped away, she proclaimed, "Now the rest, oldest to youngest." As she walked away the guys all cheered again, but Bill called out, "Shouldn't that tradition only be for single girls?"

Fleur gave him a sweet smile and tossed her hair, "Ah well, so we change the tradition a little," and more laughter followed.

Angelina looked at Alicia and said, "I guess I'm next." She walked up to Harry with Alicia following along and gave him a quick, friendly kiss. "I first knew you as only a teammate, but eventually I came to know you as a friend and a teacher. Thank you for everything you've done for me Harry." Alicia did likewise. "Same for me, Harry. You really are an amazing teacher, and you're not too shabby at quidditch either." They both smiled at him and stepped back, to more cheering from the guys.

"Why didn't anyone tell me about this tradition yesterday when it was my birthday?" complained Neville good-naturedly. Angelina and Alicia promptly ran over and each gave him a kiss, causing him to blush furiously.

Now it was Hermione's turn. Harry was suddenly very nervous as she approached. When she was right in front of him, she winked and leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek, to a chorus of boos. Pulling him into a hug, she whispered to him. "You got the real one three weeks ago. Ginny already looks ready to kill Fleur." She pulled back slightly and looked into his eyes. "There isn't enough time to tell you everything you mean to me, Harry. I don't even want to think about what my life would be like without you in it. Thank you for being you." She hugged him again and kissed him on the other cheek, eliciting a fresh round of boos.

Luna walked up in her typically dreamy fashion, then surprisingly pulled Harry into a serious snog. _'Wow, who knew Luna would be such a good kisser?'_ thought Harry, as the cheering and catcalls resumed.

As the others had, Luna spoke in a low voice that no one could overhear. "Ginny's just going to have to deal with it," she said. "Harry, thank you for accepting me. You befriended me when everyone else could only see the strange girl in weird clothing. Thank you for everything you've done for me. You know I'll support you in anything you do." She also finished with a hug and walked away.

Ginny was the last one. Harry realized that Fleur had set it up this way and wondered if Ginny appreciated it. He suspected not. As she walked toward Harry, hesitantly at first and then with more determination, Hermione found Fleur. "I've never read anything about this French tradition," she mentioned casually.

"Oh, I made it up," the part Veela answered with a Gallic shrug. Hermione made a supreme effort to stifle her mirthful gasp. Fleur smiled at her. "I was surprised that you did not take advantage of your opportunity."

"Not you too," Hermione moaned. "What part of 'just friends' don't you people understand?"

"Perhaps we see something that you do not?"

"What I see is that Harry's enjoying himself just fine right now," Hermione retorted, a little more snappishy than she had intended. Fleur merely raised an eyebrow and turned back to the couple.

Ginny was apparently attempting to outdo Fleur's kiss, and to Harry's mind, was succeeding admirably. The whoops and hollers started again, but were suddenly broken by a loud voice calling, "Oi, Potter! Get your hand off my sister's bum!" followed by raucous laughter. Harry turned bright red as he quickly moved his hand up to Ginny's waist, not even realizing that it had wandered. Ginny finally broke the kiss and leaned back, regarding him with an extremely satisfied expression. She had been planning exactly how to say this next part and intended to get it just right.

"Harry," she said in a low voice that sent shivers down Harry's spine. "You not only saved my life, you're the bravest, nicest, most considerate and most noble man I know. Maybe even too noble," she added, with a sly smile on her face. "You're my hero in every possible way."

Just as she leaned in for another kiss, Harry caught an unmistakeable sound that brought dread to his heart. The pop-pop-pop of multiple apparations. _No! Not here! Not now!_

Instantly he spun around, his right hand drawing his wand and his left hand forcing Ginny to the ground. "Everybody get down!" he shouted, while hearing several other voices screaming the same thing. He dropped into a crouch looking toward the direction the pops had come from just as a green streak flashed by overhead. Before he cold blink a granite slab appeared in front of him. Darting a look to his side he saw Hermione crouched down with Ron, conjuring another slab in front of him and herself. Within seconds more slabs appeared as Flitwick and McGonagall noticed what Hermione was doing and added some of their own (Flitwick conjuring and McGonagall transfiguring), while Remus and Tonks did the same in another part of the yard.

Twenty to thirty Death Eaters had appeared just outside the anti-apparation wards and several had already encountered the impediment jinx embedded in the wards as they rushed forward. Harry fired of a series of stunning spells and was pleased to see four Death Eaters drop as his and other spells connected.

"Fred, George, watch the flanks!" shouted Ron as he looked around, determined to avoid the outcome of the attack at Diagon Alley. Mum, Dad, stay back and watch behind us!"

The slab in front of Harry exploded and was immediately replaced by another. He looked over at Hermione and gave a grim nod of thanks and quickly turned his attention to the Death Eaters. To his dismay, the stunned ones had already been revived and more were fighting their way through the wards.

"Focus your fire on the ones caught in the jinx!" shouted Remus. "Don't let any through. And stay down!" Ginny popped up and fired off a spell and ducked back, and Harry added two more of his own. But he soon realized that crouched behind the barrier like this they couldn't shoot many spells, and the ones they did get off weren't very accurate. Others had realized the same thing. Remus and Tonks stood up as a pair and with one firing and one shielding quickly downed several Death Eaters before ducking back. Off to the other side, Harry noticed Bill and Fleur doing the same. Suddenly his eye caught a streak of blonde hair rushing forward. Dodging a quick jinx Luna dove to a stop beside Hermione and Ron. After a short exchange Hermione looked up at Harry. Realizing instantly what she was doing, he stood up and fired off a half dozen spells, drawing several in return that he ducked while Hermione scampered over to join him.

"Ready?" he asked after she had caught her breath. She nodded.

"Harry, no!" cried Ginny pulling at his shoulder. He turned and shook his head at her.

"Have to, Gin. We can't stay here like this."

He turned back and nodded to Hermione and they both leapt up and he began firing off spells as she shielded. He scored several hits and saw that the Death Eaters were no longer trying to force their way through the barrier, having abandoned several of their comrades, but were now moving off to the sides. With a sinking feeling he realized that they would soon be caught in a crossfire. A tap on the shoulder from Hermione let him know it was time to duck again.

A reducto blast exploded the slab in front of them and again Hermione instantly replaced it. Harry felt a trickle of blood running down his arm and mentally berated himself for not wearing his dragonhide armor today. The reducto blast made him recall the fight in Diagon Alley, and he realized that they had to start using more serious curses. He glanced over at Hermione and saw that she had come to the same conclusion. He gestured to the right and they quickly rose again in unison. This time he fired three reducto curses at the Death Eaters moving to that side and saw two fall with shattered legs. This time, they wouldn't be getting up so easily he thought grimly. A twang came from somewhere behind him and the third Death Eater fell with a bolt from Hagrid's crossbow in his chest.

Seeing what he was doing, first Ron and Remus, then Bill and Charlie also began using more destructive spells. Harry noted with admiration that Luna was trying to shield for Ron now. As he and Hermione ducked down again, he realized that several of his friends were down with injuries and out of the fight, but everyone still seemed to be alive. As long as they were firing steadily at the Death Eaters they wouldn't have time to aim and cast Avada Kedavra, Harry thought hopefully. He was relieved to see that Ginny was still OK, but a little shaken up. She was still managing to get a shot off every so often. He reached over and gave her hand a squeeze, trying to keep her spirits up.

Jumping up again, the pair found that more of the Death Eaters were down, but it wasn't clear if their side was ahead or behind on this deadly scorecard. He began to cast more reducto curses. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his head and staggered back, instantly throwing his full effort into his occlumency shields. He knew that mental signature anywhere. Snape was here! An arm around his waist steadied him, as Hermione held him with her left hand but kept flicking her wand with her right to keep her shields up as spells kept flying at them. Harry gradually fought off the mental attack and could see Snape on the other side of the ward, putting everything he had into his Legilimency spell.

Suddenly Snape crumbled to the ground. Out of the corner of his eye Harry saw Augusta Longbottom who had arisen from behind her barrier, eyes blazing and wand out. Two curses streaked toward her, but before he could shout out a warning they impacted on another shield. Beside Augusta stood Neville, his wand arm trembling. The shield held.

Pop-pop-pop-pop. Harry's heart sank and he looked despairingly at Hermione. Reinforcements had arrived. Now they would be overmatched.

But these new wizards, though dressed in dark robes, were firing at the Death Eaters! Within seconds another dozen Death Eaters were down. Sensing that tide of the battle had turned against them, the remaining Death Eaters touched portkeys or disapparated, taking several wounded and unconscious with them including, to Harry's disgust, Snape.

Suddenly it was quiet. Madame Pomfrey appeared from behind one of the barricades at the rear and began examining the wounded. Molly, and Charlie who had learned quite a bit of first aid in his dragon handling career, hurried to assist her.

Harry slowly approached the mysterious blacked garbed wizards, Hermione and Ron a step behind. Suddenly a grin broke out on his face as their dark haired leader stepped forward. "Viktor! Glad you could make it."

A small smile replaced the scowl that normally resided on the face of Viktor Krum. "Happy birthday, Harry."

---------------------

A/N No notes on this chapter, but an announcement. I finished writing the story today! (It ends on September 1.) Now it just needs some editing and polishing. There will be 25 chapters in all. My intention is to take a little time off and then write a sequel that takes place during seventh year, but it's possible that I'll just combine them into one long story.


	19. Birthday Discoveries

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Thanks to Old Crow and Dee for prereading this chapter.

**---------------**

**Chapter 19, Birthday Discoveries**

"Happy Birthday, Harry."

Harry quickly shook Viktor's hand and Ron did likewise while Hermione gave him a short hug, but it was obvious that Viktor was not happy.

"You got here just in time," Harry informed him. "We were in real trouble there for a bit."

"Our response time was completely unacceptable," Viktor snapped. "We failed to plan for the possibility of simultaneous attacks. We wasted precious time arguing about where we should go."

"What else happened?" Harry was suddenly aware that others had joined the conversation, including Remus, Tonks, and Moody. He realized for the first time that Kingsley Shacklebolt and Hestia Jones were missing.

"Azkaban was attacked," Moody growled as Viktor nodded. "We got the floo call and Shacklebolt and Jones left just before the attack here. Tonks talked them into letting her stay here just in case."

"Scrimgeour decided to send the Aurors to Azkaban and let us come here," Viktor continued. "We need to continue to build up our manpower so we can handle situations like this."

Harry agreed, but added, "Well at least when you got here you took them out quickly. That was some pretty fast shooting."

"Yes, we have been working on that. Apparating in and getting off the first spell is critical." At that moment one of Viktor's men approached.

"Sir, we've finished the body count. There were ten killed and eight captured. All of the captured are wounded, but we are treating them. They should survive, although it will be a while before some of them can walk again."

"Very good, Troy," responded Viktor. Harry did not notice Ron whose eyes went wide as he slowly mouthed, _'Troy?'_ "We were just discussing what went wrong with this raid. Would you care to share your thoughts?"

Troy stiffened noticeably. It seemed that he thought that the raid had gone rather well and did not wish to talk about his unit's shortcomings with strangers. He looked at the three students and sneered. "I hardly think we would want to discuss this with schoolchildren."

Later Harry would never understand what made him say what he said next, but apparently the tension of being in a deadly battle had got to him because he muttered, "This schoolboy can kick _your_ arse."

A smirk spread across the other wizard's face as he drew out his wand. "Is that so? Perhaps a little practice sparring would disabuse you of that delusion."

Viktor seemed to struggle to keep a straight face. "I wouldn't recommend that Troy."

Troy didn't take his eyes off Harry as he casually responded, "And why would that be?"

"Actually, I can think of at least three reasons."

"Oh?"

"First, he probably _can_ kick your arse." The other wizard merely snorted.

"Second, he's the one who pays your salary." This one got Troy's attention and he snapped his head around to stare at Viktor.

"Third, this is Harry Potter."

Troy's head pivoted back to Harry, and a dismayed look appeared on his face. "Harry Potter?"

Harry tried to avoid smirking at the flustered wizard as he held out his hand. The older wizard, however, turned away with a grim expression and walked stiffly up to Viktor.

"Sir, I wish to tender my resignation."

Before Viktor could respond, Harry interrupted. "Mr. Krum."

Viktor turned to Harry, understanding the need for the formal address. "Yes Mr. Potter?"

"Is this man a capable fighter?"

"He's one of my best, sir." By now, both Harry and Viktor were struggling to keep up the level of formality and Harry's friends were clearly puzzled by this behavior. Moody, however, was nodding approvingly.

"Then it would be most unfortunate to lose his services due to a simple misunderstanding," Harry offered. "It is of course your decision to make."

Viktor turned back to Troy, who was looking both amazed and relieved. "In that case, I must decline your resignation." But before anyone could move he continued, "However, there is still the matter of the challenge you issued." Both Troy and Harry began to object, but he silenced Troy with a gesture and gave Harry a 'trust me' look. "I would suggest instead, a two on two competition."

Knowing that he had to explain to Harry, Viktor moved aside with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Ginny hung just behind Harry's shoulder while Moody, Remus, and Tonks hovered a little further back. "I'm sorry to put you on the spot like this, but so far my team is a bunch of talented individualists. We need to learn to work together and this may be a good opportunity to demonstrate that."

Harry hesitated. He admired how quickly Viktor had picked up on this opportunity, but was not sure they could pull it off. "And you are confident that we can do this?"

Before Viktor could respond, Ron blurted out, "Harry, do you know who that is? That's Patrick Troy, the star chaser on the Irish world cup team! We can't fight him!" Ginny gasped and several of them turned back to stare at Troy while Harry glanced briefly at him before returning his attention to Viktor.

"Yes, I am confident that you will prevail," replied Viktor. "For two reasons. First, I believe I know Harry Potter. Second, I know Hermione Granger. Neither of you ever permit yourselves to fail."

"Hermione?" said Ginny, taken aback. "Why not Ron?" Ron initially looked surprised, but then nodded, disappointed but accepting. Ginny, though, was clearly unhappy.

Remus, realizing the awkward situation, quickly stepped in. "Harry and Hermione have been training at fighting together all summer. They're clearly the best we've got." Ginny calmed down, but was obviously not pleased with the revelation and its implications.

Word of the duel spread quickly, and although several of the grownups objected, Viktor stood his ground. The support of Moody also helped settle things down. Harry and Hermione were briefly treated by Pomfrey, but not without a lecture about how ridiculous these duels were. Troy chose a partner, terms were explained, and soon they were ready to begin. The goal was to disarm, with no curses that would cause serious injury permitted.

Initially Harry and Hermione held back, feeling out their opposition. They quickly discovered that Hermione was able to block everything the other two could throw at them. Harry probed their defenses with a variety of hexes of different strengths, and they both steadily grew more confident. A plan gradually developed in Harry's mind. Viktor wanted this to be a learning experience for his troops, so they would show them something outside the ordinary.

He launched a rapid volley of hexes that temporarily threw their opponents off balance and quickly murmered to Hermione, "Give me a boulder, we'll bury one. Like your birds."

"Conjurus. Wingardium Leviosa." Given a brief respite from shielding, with two flicks and a swish of her wand Hermione quickly conjured a large granite boulder and levitated it.

"Reducto." The boulder blew apart, but before the pieces could fall Hermione's wand flashed again. "Oppugno." The pile of stones suddenly flew at Troy's partner, knocking him down and partially covering him.

"Expeliarmus. Accio wand." Harry had the wand and ducked a return curse from Troy just before Hermione got her shield back up.

Troy suddenly realized that he was in big trouble, but gamely continued on, trying more exotic hexes, but still unable to penetrate that girl's blasted shields. These kids were better than he thought possible.

Harry upped the tempo, launching a blistering array of curses that had Troy entirely on the defensive, and Hermione caught her breath and considered a knockout blow. She was pretty sure Harry would soon be able to break through the other's defenses but rather liked his idea of making a statement.

"Give me a hole" she told Harry.

"Reducto." A large amount of earth was blasted away at Troy's feet and the other wizard was instantly wary of another attack like the one had buried his partner. Unfortunately he was unaware of the silent tripping jinx Hermione had sent his way even before the dirt settled and before he knew it he had stumbled into the hole.

"Aguamenti." Hermione suddenly filled the hole with water and Troy found himself splashing his arms to keep himself afloat.

"Expeliarmus." The wand sailed up and Harry snatched it out of the air, ending the duel just as he would a quidditch match.

The watching crowd of Harry's friends erupted into cheers, and even Viktor's strike team applauded. A quick hug from Hermione and a shared look of satisfaction were immediately followed by a mob of hugs, handshakes, and backslaps as their friends rushed to congratulate the pair. As soon as he could, Harry shook them off and tentatively approached Troy, who had finally pulled himself out of the hole and dried himself. Harry really didn't want another enemy, but that worry was quickly dashed as Troy broke into a big grin. "That was brilliant. You two are really something. I've never seen anyone work so smoothly together."

"I have," Harry grinned back. "Quidditch World Cup three years ago. Best set of chasers in the world." Troy regarded him quizzically, then laughed heartily. He decided that he could really get to like this kid. And that he was very glad that he was on his side.

He held out his hand. "Patrick Troy, at your service."

"Harry Potter," Harry replied unnecessarily, shaking the other's hand. And this is Hermione Granger, one of my two best friends. And here is the other, Ron Weasley." Troy greeted them both and then Harry introduced Ginny and the rest of his friends.

"Two lessons here," Viktor interrupted. "Teamwork is as important in fighting as it is in sports. And we must learn to occasionally 'think outside the box' as my muggleborn friends put it." He winked at Hermione and she blushed. She had not let go of Harry's arm and was happily accepting everyone's congratulations. She was glad to see Harry coming out of his shell and taking the credit that was so rightfully his. And, she realized, she herself had come a long way from the shy bookworm who had trouble making friends.

-----

When things had settled down somewhat Viktor approached Harry and his friends with Moody, Troy, and two others. "We have a few more problems, one immediate and a couple long term. The immediate one is what to do with the prisoners."

Before Harry could respond Moody broke in. "You're not going to like this. The raid on Azkaban went much worse for our side than this one. They broke out all the Death Eaters that we captured at the Department of Mysteries two years ago." The others all realized the implication. There just didn't seem to be any point in turning this lot over to the Ministry if they were only going to break out again.

"Malfoy and Dolohov?" Harry asked glumly. Moody nodded. "Pettigrew?"

"No, he was still being held at the Ministry."

"What about Greyback?"

Moody looked at him strangely. "He was executed last week. They've been after him for years. The Ministry has no tolerance for werewolves when they attack innocent people. Execution is automatic."

Harry frowned as it dawned on him that Greyback was considered less than human by the wizarding world and would be treated as such. He recalled the death sentence handed out to Buckbeak for merely injuring Malfoy four years earlier. While Greyback certainly deserved it, the attitude still bothered him.

Shaking it off, Harry turned his thoughts to the problem at hand. Something was nagging at him that he had just thought of recently … Then he had it!

"Could you guys use a castle dungeon?" The others gaped at him unable to believe what they were hearing. That would be perfect. But where could they find such a thing?

Harry explained to them about his inherited castle, much to their delight. They immediately brought Bill over to discuss the details. He informed him that it was already unplottable and had muggle repelling charms, and had been deserted for at least one hundred years, so that it was unlikely that anyone on either side would know of it. They all thought it best that it remain that way, as they had little confidence in the Ministry's ability to keep it secret. They quickly devised a plan to transfer the prisoners. Bill would apparate Harry there, and Dobby would follow. Once Dobby knew where it was he would come back for the others while Bill helped Harry take possession. Dobby even thought that he could 'borrow' a few Hogwart's house elves to maintain the castle. McGonagall readily gave him permission and they were ready to go.

Just as they were about to leave, Viktor asked, "By the way, what's the name of this castle?"

"Dernhelm," Harry answered. Immediately there was a snort from Hermione. He looked at her questioningly, as she covered her mouth and tried not to laugh.

"You have a castle named Dernhelm?" she said, her eyes dancing. Suddenly, he realized where he had read that name.

"You don't think?"

"I think so. If no muggles know about it, he must have been a wizard. That would explain how he was able to describe magic so accurately."

"Anytime the two of you want to let us into your little world, feel free." This time it was Viktor who was teasing them. The effect was the same as it had been from Ron earlier in the day and once again the two were embarrassed.

"Oh, sorry. That name is in a series of books that Harry is reading. We think the author must have been a wizard. His stories have some interesting parallels to what we're going through right now." Hermione relaxed as she went into her familiar explanation mode.

Viktor regarded his two friends and smiled. "Some day you'll have to let me read these books. But right now we have some prisoners that need accommodations."

The whole process took the better part of two hours and it was suppertime by the time the strike team returned, minus the ones who had been left on guard. Of course Molly insisted that they all stay for supper, and Harry's birthday cake.

-----

Harry stood on the porch, taking in the scene in front of him. A warm, contented feeling of acceptance that he had rarely felt before this summer filled him as his eyes wandered among the groups gathering at the long table. Ron, Fred, George, and Charlie were talking animatedly with Troy and some of the other strike team members. Viktor was frowning as he pointed something out to Moody, Tonks and Remus. The Hogwarts staff had made their goodbyes and left after the battle, wishing Harry a happy birthday once again before leaving. Angelina and Alicia were laughing with Fleur about something and Hermione and Ginny … he smiled as he saw them sitting down in the middle of the table with a space between them that was clearly intended for him.

As he gazed at the two most important girls – no, women, he corrected himself – in his life he couldn't help comparing them. They were both dressed similarly, in tee shirts and jeans, but otherwise didn't look much alike. Hermione's clothes were nice and relatively new, and fit her perfectly, showing off her figure to its best advantage. Ginny's were old and somewhat worn. Her tee shirt was too small, clinging tightly to her frame and leaving an inch or two gap at her waist. Which may actually have been intentional, Harry realized with a smile, and he wasn't complaining a bit. Her jeans were a little too large, and were rolled up at the bottom.

Of the two, however, Ginny was the one who first caught everyone's eye. Petite, extremely pretty, with flaming red hair and perfect skin and a vivacious personality, it was easy to see why the guys at Hogwarts were enamored with her. Hermione, on the other hand, was easy to overlook. She was of fairly average size and her only striking feature, her bushy hair, wasn't something that turned guys' heads. Closer up though, she was attractive in a comfortable way that would make someone wonder, once he got to know her, how he had overlooked her before.

But inside, where it really counted, the two were more alike than not. They were both bright, fiercely loyal, thoughtful and caring individuals and passionate for what they believed in. And both of them cared deeply for him, even if it was in somewhat different ways. As he continued to study them, Hermione looked up. As always, she seemed to know when he was thinking of her and turned to look his way with a smile. Catching his eye, she quickly whispered to Ginny and the redhead turned to him as well, a dazzling smile lighting up her face. They both waved him over and he left his spot on the porch and moved to the table.

As if on cue, everyone found their seats and shortly Molly was levitating a birthday cake into position. Everyone joined in singing and Harry suddenly found a hand in each of his own and he gave each one a thankful squeeze in return. As the song ended he received a kiss on each cheek, accompanied by a pair of giggles. Harry thought that this was probably the best day of his life.

With Viktor sitting across from him the conversation eventually turned to the raid. Viktor's other two concerns were containment and coordination. Moody had pointed out that they could have put up an anti-apparation ward to prevent the Death Eaters from escaping if they didn't have portkeys. They had concluded that their team needed to specialize, with someone going in first as an advance scout and another immediately casting the antiapparation ward, while still others focused on shielding or attack.

"Hey, specialized roles just like in quidditch." Ron entered the conversation enthusiastically and Hermione and Harry shared a quick grin. For once their friend's quidditch obsession was actually relevant to the discussion. "I mean, a good seeker would almost never make a good beater. Put people in positions they're good at." Despite smiles from most of the others, they had to acknowledge that the point was accurate. Taking that together with what they had seen from Harry and Hermione during the duel, the strike team agreed that a strategy change was in order.

"That still leaves me with the communication problem," pointed out Viktor. "We could send in a scout in an invisibility cloak, but he would have no way to communicate with us short of apparating back. The whole process slows down our response time.

"Muggles have lots of ways of instant communication," pointed out Hermione. Haven't you talked to those consultants we set you up with?"

"They've mentioned stuff, but I didn't really understand them. It seems like we're speaking a different language." Hermione raised her eyebrows at the language comment by the Bulgarian wizard, and giggled at the glare he sent back at her.

"Perhaps a demonstration would be in order," suggested Harry. Hermione nodded and they both pulled out their cell phones. Hermione called Remus and Harry called George. They had decided to give the twins the remaining cell phone the week before. After fumbling around a bit while rest of the crowd was amused at the music coming out of their pockets, Remus and George were soon talking to Hermione and Harry. While everyone was fascinated by the sounds coming out of the phones, Troy gave them a puzzled look.

"What's the point? Why not just shout down to the end of the table?"

"Because, with these distance doesn't matter," Hermione explained patiently. "Just like a floo, but more portable. I could be talking to you in London or in Hogsmeade or across the world and it would sound the same."

"Hermione's parents are in Canada right now," added Harry. "Hey," he said, turning to Hermione with an eager look, "we were planning on calling them later anyway, why not do it now?"

Hermione's face brightened and she broke into a huge smile. "Oh Harry, that's a wonderful idea." Turning back to her cell phone she said a quick goodbye to Remus, who grinned and just waved from down the table, then pushed a few buttons and sat back, still smiling.

"Hi Mum, it's me, Hermione. No, nothing's wrong. We're at Harry's birthday party right now and we're showing off our cell phones … Sure, I'll put him on." She motioned to Harry and handed him the phone.

"Hi, Emma." Harry was suddenly aware of a large number of people gaping at him. Most of them didn't realize he was so familiar with Hermione's parents, and none of them could quite grasp that he was really talking to someone in Canada. "Thanks, I'm having a great time. It's the best birthday I've ever had." He missed the satisfied look that passed between Remus and Molly when they heard that statement, as well as the high five exchanged by Ginny and Hermione behind his back. After exchanging a few more pleasantries he handed the phone back to Hermione. Viktor was waiting for him.

"OK, I'm convinced. We'll try to work more with the muggles and see what they can put together for us."

"We'll try to stop by a day or two next week to help translate." Harry grinned as he said this and Viktor grimaced. As they finished Troy and Ron walked up.

"All that talk about teamwork earlier got us to thinking," Ron began. "Troy was noticing our quidditch pitch and suggested a game. How about it?"

"I thought we could challenge them," added Troy. "What do ya think, captain? Or are you too rusty from sitting the last season out?" Viktor directed a mock glare at his subordinate, but eagerly agreed.

"We could put a whole Gryffindor team together," Ron said excitedly. "We've got Fred and George for beaters, Ginny, Angelina, and Alicia for chasers, and you and me."

Harry turned to Hermione and waved to get her attention, mouthing 'quidditch' and pointing to the pitch. Hermione nodded and returned to her conversation. "Sorry, Mum. Harry and Ron are going off to play quidditch … Well, it's sort of like football, except they throw the ball instead of kicking it. And it's played on brooms. And then there's … never mind, you just have to see it."

Fortunately for the Gryffindors, the rest of Viktor's strike team were not international quidditch stars, but they all had played in school. Troy was nearly unstoppable, but was not used to playing with the other two chasers. Angelina and Alicia, of course, worked well together and Ginny was able to integrate her game with theirs relatively quickly. After all, Harry had used the same playbook last year that the Gryffindor team had used for years. Fred and George had played together so long that they could nearly read each other's minds, and their bludger play was all that kept Troy in check. Ron was an adequate keeper but no match for Troy. All in all, it ended up being a high scoring game.

The real show, though, was Harry and Viktor. Diving and feinting at incredible speeds, they were simply having a blast flying against each other. From a high altitude, Viktor abruptly took off on a power dive for the turf, with Harry right behind. Only few feet from the ground he suddenly pulled out, but Harry was right with him, remembering the Wronski feint from the World Cup. "Not this time, Krum!" he shouted at the other seeker and they both laughed. Without warning Harry broke off the laughter and did an inverted one eighty and headed back the other way at top speed, heading for the Gryffindor goal. Krum recovered and streaked in pursuit. Just as he was about to crash into the other keeper, Harry veered to the right. Viktor, right behind him veered to the left, just missing the startled keeper who could only duck. Meanwhile, Ginny fired the quaffle into the center hoop, realizing that Harry had set the whole thing up to distract the opposing keeper.

Harry and Viktor kept it up for more than an hour, each catching the snitch several times, then releasing it without showing the other players just so the game could keep going. Finally as it was getting dark they pulled up by mutual agreement and slowly spiraled down to the ground. The rest of the players, seeing the two of them, also landed and there was immediately a mob of grinning, chattering quidditch players.

"That was the most fun I've ever had playing quidditch!" exclaimed Harry breathlessly. Viktor agreed, smiling broadly. Meanwhile, Troy was congratulating the Gryffindor chasers and cheerfully threatening Fred and George for nearly beheading him multiple times with well placed bludgers. Finally he made it over to Ron.

"That was some pretty good keeping," he told the embarrassed redhead. When Ron protested that he had only managed to stop a half dozen of the Irish star's shots, he threw back his head and laughed. "There isn't a keeper in Britain who can stop me. Really, you're not too bad. You might consider trying out for one of the lower division clubs and see what happens. It usually takes years to develop as a keeper." Ron was thrilled to hear this and basically walked around in a daze for the rest of the night.

As it was getting to be time to leave, Ginny pulled Harry aside and the two of them walked off alone. By no coincidence, the other girls managed to distract the remaining guests and no one noticed them leave.

"Harry, why don't you stay here for the rest of the summer? I …we'd love to have you."

Harry had been expecting this suggestion and had planned his response. "Ginny, how does your mum treat you during the summer?"

Ginny had not expected this argument. "What do you mean? My mum's always been really nice to you."

Harry persisted. "Does she treat you like an adult who can make your own decisions?"

"Are you kidding? She still acts like I'm an eleven year old kid who just went off to school."

"That's why I can't stay here. She still looks at me like that lost eleven year old boy she met in the train station. Ginny," Harry said calmly, taking her hand, "Hermione and I have been training and studying all day long every day. Ron, too, as much as he can join us. You know what we're facing. I decided on the train ride home that I couldn't relax at all this summer. This is the first day off we've had since … since the wedding I guess. And neither of them were exactly days off." He gave a grim laugh, recalling the dementor and Death Eater attacks.

"But I can fight, too. I can train with you."

"Ginny, you know your mum wouldn't let you do that."

"I know," moaned Ginny in defeat. "But I miss you and want you around more often."

Harry sighed and made a decision. He had never liked it when people kept things from him and decided to be honest, painful though that might me. "Ginny, that's not the only reason. I want to tell you the truth, even though you aren't going to want to hear it."

Ginny's eyes teared up and she brought her fist to her mouth, trying not to cry. He was going to break up with her, for real this time. But what she heard next was not exactly what she expected.

"Ginny." Harry said it so softly she had to lean forward to hear him. The way he said it sent shivers down her arms. "I'm starting to fall for you in a big way. But I can't – not right now. If I spent time here I wouldn't be able to focus on anything except when I would be able to sneak away with you for another snogging session. That kiss you gave me earlier really knocked my socks off. I know it sounds terrible, but you would be a major distraction. I need to concentrate on getting ready to face Voldemort and I just can't take time to have a girlfriend and everything that goes with that. I'm so sorry. I really have enjoyed every minute I've spent with you." He finally paused, waiting for a reaction. So far she hadn't burst into tears, or slapped him or hexed him. She hadn't done anything, actually.

Ginny's emotions had been going on a wild rollercoaster ride all through this confession. She had resisted the urge to throw her arms around him and snog him senseless at least twice, and had clenched her fists and bit back a bitter retort as well. She forced herself to answer calmly, seriously. He deserved it. Not for the first time she found herself despairing at unfair how it all was, that he – and she – should have to give up so much.

"I … I understand, I guess. I don't like it much, but I guess I can accept it. But what about …?"

Harry knew what was coming next and shook his head gently. "No Gin. Even though we might be coming back to school this fall – and that's looking like a lot more of a possibility after today – I still don't think we can. If we were officially together I would want to spend a lot more time with you than I can spare. And even if we could keep it under control it's still too dangerous. Ron and Hermione are going to be targets because everyone knows they've been my friends forever. That's one of the reasons why we're training so hard. I… I'm really sorry. I don't know what else I can say." He pulled her into a hug and this time she let herself go and the tears finally came.

Finally she pulled back and wiped her eyes, the look of the fierce competitor returning. "OK. But I'm still not giving up on you. And I can train, too, when we go back. I can be just as good as Hermione and Ron. I'll be able to help you fight."

Harry didn't disagree, knowing what a difficult concession it had been for her. "Of course you can train too. I'm counting on it. We'll probably start up the DA again and I'll want you to be one of the leaders. You and Neville and maybe Luna."

Ginny smiled finally, thrilled at his confidence. She vowed that she would not let him down. She launched into another fierce hug. "Thanks, Harry," she whispered.

"I have something for you." The conversation had reminded Harry of the set of throwing knives and their wrist holsters that he had picked out for her. A few seconds was all it took to summon Dobby and send the eager house elf to bring the weapons. Ginny's eyes grew wide at the sight of the knives, and she anxiously picked them up and examined them testing their feel and heft. She glowed as she heard him describe why he had thought of her and her throwing ability. She quickly determined to practice with them every day and prove that his faith in her was not misplaced.

Before they went back Harry hit her with another stunning revelation. He explained to her why she could actually practice spells at home, even though she was underage, but pleaded with her to be responsible about it. She should practice combat spells with Ron, but be careful not to do anything that would get either of them injured. And at all costs she must keep anyone else from knowing what they were doing. Her eyes shining with excitement, she eagerly agreed.

-----

By the time they returned, everyone had noticed that they were gone and they received a lot of knowing smirks from the others. Only Molly and Hermione, though, spotted Ginny's red eyes and guessed that things had not gone as well as they seemed. Before anyone could say anything, Harry had gone up to say goodbye to Molly.

To her astonishment, he gave her a hug. "Thanks so much Mrs. Weasley. This was a great day. Thanks for making me feel at home and for everything you do for us."

Molly, caught off balance, could only respond with her usual hug and replied, "Oh, Harry dear, it was the least we could do. You know we consider you one of the family and you're welcome here any time. Why don't you stay longer?"

But Harry had already gone on to say goodbye to the others and Hermione stepped in for a goodbye hug of her own. This time Molly's hug was considerably less enthusiastic but before she could say anything else Harry and Hermione were waving and on their way down the lane toward the apparation barrier. Hermione, however, did not miss the glare that Molly sent her way at the idea of the two of them returning to the house they shared.

-----

A little later, in a flat above Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, a pair of red-headed twins reflected on the days events.

"Well, brother mine, it appears as though our baby sister is smitten with Mr. Potter."

"When was she ever not?"

"True, but now it looks like it's for real."

"What a relief. Now we don't have to worry about having to hurt any of those other blokes who've been hanging all over her."

"You don't think we'll have to worry about Harry, do you?"

"Are you kidding? Besides, what makes you think we could lay a hand on Harry?"

"What do you mean?"

"Did you see the way he took out those two guys? They were hit wizards. They took down those Death Eaters in no time at all. And he just toyed with them."

"He had help, you know. It was amazing how well those two work together." There was a long pause. "You did see who he went home with at the end of the day?"

There was another long pause. "I'm afraid our little sis is going to have her heart broken."

"So we are going to have to hurt him?"

"Even if we could, would you really want to have to deal with retaliation from a witch who knows more hexes than any ten wizards put together?"

"Heck, no. She scares me."

"They're scary together."

"That's a good thing if we're going to get rid of a certain dark lord, but maybe not so good for little Ginevra."

"I think we stay out of this one."

-----

"Wow, what a day!" Harry had just retrieved two butterbeers from the fridge and joined Hermione on the sofa in their customary positions, facing each other, one curled up at each end.

"So many incredible things to happen in a single day," she agreed. "Visiting your vault, finding the horcrux, fighting off those Death Eaters …"

"Breakfast in bed."

"Harry, I'm serious!"

"So am I, that was one of the best parts of the day."

"Harry …" Hermione started, then dropped her head and blushed, remembering the circumstances in the bedroom that morning.

"I mean it. I really enjoyed that. It was a really thoughtful thing for you to do."

"You're welcome, Harry," Hermione said softly, her eyes glistening slightly. He was just so sweet sometimes.

"Playing quidditch was a blast, too."

For a moment Hermione just stared at him, then burst into laughter. That was just so … so Harry-like. She realized that to him the best parts of the day were not the events of major significance, but the ordinary, fun things that anyone else might take for granted. She thought about what an upside down life he had, where the simple things were treasured and dramatic occurrences were commonplace.

"You were incredible when those Death Eaters attacked." Hermione's thoughts were pulled back by his return to her original comment. "I barely had time to react and you were already conjuring up those stone walls."

"Don't give me that. You had already started shouting for everyone to get down, going into Potter protective mode." She watched as he looked at her and mouthed the alliteration, then began to chuckle. "We did all right today, didn't we?" she went on, referring to the teamwork they had displayed.

He knew exactly what she meant. "Yeah, we were pretty good together." He paused. "We've always been good together haven't we?" They were silent, thinking of dragons and time turners and hippogriffs, puzzling out clues and mysteries, fighting Death Eaters and dementors.

"Hey, did McGonagall tell you about Mrs. Figg?" Harry asked, changing the subject before the silence could become too uncomfortable.

"Yes, she said she was going to replace Filch. I guessed that he would be out. He supported Umbridge, you know, and you remember how much McGonagall hated Umbridge." She looked curiously at Harry. "How exactly do you know Mrs. Figg again?"

"She was my babysitter while I was growing up. I didn't know it at the time, but she was a squib and actually working for the Order, keeping an eye on me. Now that I'm not living on Privet Drive any more, I guess there's no reason for her to stay there." Harry began to chuckle. "If you thought Mrs. Norris was bad, wait until you see how many cats she has. She always had one outside the Dursleys sort of on lookout. That's how she found out about the Dementor attack on me and Dudley so quickly. It's going to be even harder for students to get away with anything in the castle now."

They lapsed into a companionable silence, sipping their butterbeers and enjoying each other's company. Finally, Hermione broke the quiet once more.

"So, what happened with you and Ginny?"

Harry regarded her briefly, as though trying to decide what and how much to tell her. "I told her the truth."

"And that was?"

"Pretty much what you already know. That I was starting to fall for her but I couldn't afford to right now. That we were spending all our time studying and training and how that would be impossible if we were at the Burrow." Hermione was struck by the calm, passionless way he said this even though it must be tearing him up inside. She resisted the urge to lean over and hug him, reluctantly reasoning that it wouldn't exactly be appropriate given the subject under discussion. "And I also told her that we still wouldn't be able to be officially together even if we go back to Hogwarts in the fall."

"That's going to be tricky," she pointed out, '_in more ways than one' _she added to herself.

"Well, we'll have to deal with that when and if it happens. We still have another horcrux to find."

She agreed and thoughts of how they were going to go after the last one began to percolate in her mind.

"I also gave her the throwing knives," Harry finished. "She wants to practice and get as good as she can at fighting so she can help us any way she can."

"I'll bet she does," Hermione agreed, thinking about her fiercely competitive and tenacious friend.

"That reminds me, what was the deal with my ring?"

Hermione was caught off balance and stumbled for an answer. "Your ring?" she offered lamely.

"You know, the funny reaction you had when I put my ring on." She hesitated, not wanting to tell him what it had felt like, but not wanting to lie to him either.

"Uh, well," she struggled for the best wording to use, "your ring and my necklace seem to be connected."

"Connected?"

"Here, let me show you." She pulled the necklace out from where it was concealed and let it rest on the outside of her tee shirt. Maybe the feeling wouldn't be so intense if it wasn't right next to her skin. "Now put your ring on and watch what happens." Once again the gemstone glowed and was matched by a glow from the stone in the center of her cross. She shuddered as the feeling swept across her chest again, diminished but still clear.

"Wow. And you could feel that?" he asked, noting her reaction. His hand had tingled briefly and he wondered if the feeling was the same.

"It's … hard to describe," she decided. "Look let's switch and you can feel it yourself." She was uncertain if she wanted him to know the feeling it was causing but concluded that he needed to. They traded and after he looped the necklace around his neck and under his shirt she put the ring on her finger.

"Whoa. That was something. It felt like something running across my …" he looked at her chest. "Oh. Oooohhh" he managed as realization dawned. She nodded, blushing furiously. Harry immediately became uncomfortable. "Look, you don't have to … I won't wear it … I'll get a different ring."

"No," she shot back quickly. "Look, it's clear that these must be very powerful. It only lasts a bit. I'll get used to it."

"You're sure?" She nodded. "OK." Suddenly Harry got an evil grin on his face. "Hey, if you like I can help you practice getting used to it," he snickered and held out his hands, wiggling his fingers.

She gaped at him, unable to believe that the shy Harry that she used to know would suggest such a thing. _'Might be fun,' _the annoying mischievous voice in her head suggested. _'No way. Don't even think about it!'_ the rational side of her mind shouted back. During this internal argument her mouth opened and closed several times, unable to respond. Finally she gathered herself together and rose to her feet, still blushing, and affected a prim and proper voice. "That won't be necessary." She tried to make a dignified exit from the room, but the effect was ruined by the fact that he was curled up on the sofa laughing.

'_Yes! I finally got her.'_ His mind congratulated itself as he dragged himself to his feet and headed for bed, still chuckling. The slamming door to her room bothered him not at all.

-----

Harry had finally dozed off when he heard his bedroom door open.

"Harry?"

He sat up and looked at Hermione as she walked through the door. She was wearing the same brief pajamas that she had on that morning. Moonlight was streaming through his window, bathing her in a soft glow.

"I wanted to give you one more birthday present." He stared at her as she moved closer. She slowly started to remove her camisole top.

"Hermione! What are you doing!" She ignored him and finished removing the top. He found himself unable to speak further as he continued to stare at her. Without saying another word she moved closer to his bed.

Suddenly the door opened again. To his astonishment, Ginny walked through the door this time. He noticed that she was wearing the tight tee shirt that she had on that afternoon. It showed off every curve and it was quite obvious that she wasn't wearing a bra. "Harry," she said, ignoring Hermione's presence in the room. I want to give you one more birthday present."

"Ginny! What are you doing here? How did you even get here?" But she didn't answer as she also walked closer, and she too began to remove her shirt. Harry again was unable to say any more as he took in the sight before him. He tore his eyes away from Ginny and turned back to Hermione. She was still there, and had sat down next to him on the bed. Against his better judgment he dropped his gaze to her breasts, then jumped as he felt Ginny sit down on his other side. He turned away from Hermione and back to her, and once again he couldn't keep his eyes away from what was on display right in front of him.

Desperately trying to get his mouth to work again, Harry was aware of a single thought pounding at his brain. _'Ron is going to kill me!'_

With a start Harry shot up in his bed, breathing hard, his heart pounding. It was dark. He was alone in the room. He realized what had happened and sank back down into his bed with a groan. Why was he dreaming a dream like that? Ginny, sure, he could see dreaming about her, but Hermione? You don't dream things like that about your best friend!

Harry closed his eyes and tried to get back to sleep, desperately hoping that he wouldn't have that dream again.

But at the same time, a small part of him was wishing it would come back.

---------------

A/N This chapter and the next several are longer than normal. There's just a lot of stuff happening right now.


	20. The Final Horcrux

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Thanks to Old Crow and Dee for prereading this chapter.

**---------------**

**Chapter 20, The Final Horcrux**

Friday, August 1

"So, when are we going to go after that horcrux?" They were at breakfast and Harry was studiously avoiding looking at Hermione anywhere below the neck.

"Well, we have to plan it first, don't we? Honestly Harry, you didn't think we were just going to apparate there and walk into the house and look for it, did you?"

The sheepish look on his face indicated that in fact, he had been thinking something like that. He quickly recovered while Hermione gave him her sometimes-I-just-don't-know-what-to-do-with-you look. She crossed her arms and waited.

"Right, well I guess we should ask for help?" She nodded once.

"Um, we should let Remus and Tonks know what we're doing and see what they can find out for us?" She nodded again.

"We plan carefully and don't do anything until we're sure we know exactly what we're doing?" She nodded once more.

"Well, where's the fun in that?" He asked with a wide-eyed innocent look. She glared at him, but as he continued the look, a smile kept fighting at the corners of her mouth until she just shook her head, groaned and buried her head on her arms on the table. With a big grin on his face Harry crept around to her side of the table behind her and put his arms around her. In an overly dramatic voice he pronounced, "Oh, Hermione, I just don't know what I'd do without you."

Suddenly from the head buried on the table came a growl, "Potterrrrr …" Harry leapt back just as Hermione turned in the chair and took a swing at him, and he took off laughing as she chased him out of the kitchen.

-----

Thunk! Thunk!

Thunk! Thunk!

"Ginny, what are you doing?" Ron had come out to the shed looking for his sister.

"Practicing." Ginny retrieved the knives from the target she had set up on the far side of the shed, out of sight of the house, and walked back to her spot. She sheathed the weapons in her wrist holsters. One after the other, she drew her hand back behind her head, which caused the knife to drop into her palm, and in one smooth motion hurled it into the target.

Thunk! Thunk!

Ron swallowed hard. He had too many bad memories of her throwing things at him. He decided that it would be a good idea to be very nice to her for the rest of the summer.

"Um," he said hesitantly, "would you like to practice some combat spells later?"

Ginny looked up and smiled sweetly. "I'd love to."

-----

Things had settled down at Harry and Hermione's house. They had talked with Remus and had arranged to meet with him and Tonks later that day. They were also going to try to get Moody to attend. Hermione was going over the list of muggleborn students and parents that McGonagall had given them that went back twenty years. She had just about finished when she suddenly gasped.

"What's wrong?"

He came over behind her and she showed him the entry.

Lily Evans – Gryffindor  
1971 – 1978  
Prefect, 1975 – 1977  
Head Girl, 1977 – 1978  
Parents: Harold and Rose Evans  
Occupation: Physicians (retired)  
Address: Unknown

"Well that's interesting." His voice was unusually flat.

"Harry?"

"OK, I guess now I know who I'm named after."

"Harry?"

"What!" he snapped. "They're dead, OK? What's the big deal?"

"Are you sure? I think the list …"

"Dumbledore told me Aunt Petunia was my only living relative, so they must be dead," Harry explained, controlling his temper. "Please don't tell me you think he lied to me about that."

Hermione said nothing, noting the pleading look in his eyes. Something didn't add up here. There were no other names of dead parents on the list. She resolved to look into this later. "Well, we don't need to worry about it right now," she finally stated, changing the subject. We have to find that last horcrux."

-----

Sunday, August 3

At their meeting with Mrs. Longbottom that week, they began with a discussion of the attack on the Burrow. She pointed out to Harry that he needed to work more at maintaining his Occlumency while under attack, so that he didn't have to stop fighting to focus on his shields. Harry grimly agreed, knowing that a distraction like that could be fatal. Then she surprised them.

"I believe that the two of you have progressed far enough to begin the study of Legilimency. But I have another suggestion for you." Harry smiled as Hermione immediately leaned forward, eager to learn something new. "You might wish to consider attempting to master Telepathy."

Hermione had a thoughtful look at this, but Harry was confused. Seeing this, Mrs. Longbottom explained. "The two of you are unusually close. As I watch you work together it seems as though you often know what the other is thinking. That is often an indication of the potential for telepathy. It most often occurs in twins, but sometimes happens in unrelated people." She neglected to mention that this had only ever occurred when a wizard and a witch had been married for a long time, but she suspected that the sharp minded young witch before her either knew that or would look it up before long.

Harry had a more immediate concern. "Do you mean we would be able to read each others minds? We wouldn't be able to keep anything from each other?"

Mrs. Longbottom smiled at this. "Don't worry. The information transfer would be completely voluntary on your parts. In that way it is different from Legilimency. You will still be able to plan a surprise birthday party for Miss Granger."

Harry grinned. He _had _actually thought a little about what he could do for Hermione for her birthday. "Well, it might be useful to be able to think something to each other without anyone being able to hear. Not just in battle situations, either." He raised an eyebrow at Hermione with this last thought.

"Harry Potter, I am not going to be giving you answers in class, or talking to you when we should be listening to our professors." Hermione sounded serious as she said this, but the grin on her face gave her away.

Having dispensed with the teasing, both students agreed with the suggestion and decided to begin studying telepathy as soon as they could.

-----

Friday, August 8

A trio of pops, two of them nearly inaudible, broke the stillness of the night in front of the darkened mansion. As Hermione insisted, they had carefully prepared for this mission. With much anguish, Winky had confirmed that a cup similar to the one they described had been stored in the house, but she had refused to go anywhere near it. Moody had staked the place out for the last five days and pronounced it deserted. Remus and Tonks were coming in from the back. They each had an emergency portkey that would jump them to Grimmauld Place, where there were first aid supplies and a floo connection to Hogwarts if necessary. They were wearing their dragonhide armor and were wearing their concealment cloaks. Stored away in Harry and Ron's packs were the invisibility cloaks. They were as ready as could be. Slowly they began to move toward the empty Crouch mansion.

"Stupefy!" "Protego!" Four red jets of light sped toward them. In the blink of an eye Harry and Hermione had shields up, which each deflected a spell. Ron was not so fortunate, and took two full strength stunning spells. The dragonhide armor reduced the impact somewhat, but not enough to keep him conscious. Instinctively Harry and Hermione moved together in combat position, their wands up and on hair trigger alert. With twin shrugs their concealment cloaks dropped to the ground, freeing them for action. Suddenly, ahead of them they heard an all too familiar laugh, and four figures appeared as disillusionment charms faded away.

"Well, what do we have here?" an oily voice sneered. "Playing the hero again Potter? Leading your friends into another trap? Surely they must be getting tired of that by now. Is this the day you finally manage to get them killed?" As the voice continued his taunting the figures emerged from the shadows. Snape, Draco Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle.

Harry and Hermione kept silent and reinforced their occlumency shields. Harry would not rise to the bait. Not this time. He knew that Snape was trying to get him to lose his temper. _ That's not going to work anymore, Snape_, he thought grimly. The six of them stared at each other for a few seconds, then the spells began to fly.

-----

Remus and Tonks appeared together at the rear of the Crouch property and were instantly alert. Remus was uneasy as his senses picked up that something was wrong. Without exchanging a word, they cast disillusioning spells on themselves and creeping silently, made their way toward the back of the mansion. Suddenly Remus reached out to where he could feel Tonks beside him and took her arm. Someone was here, watching for them. He could feel it. Then a voice cackled through the night air.

"So, if it isn't my little niece who likes to play at being a big bad Auror. And look, she brought her animal friend along with her. How sweet." The voice dripped with sarcasm and sent chills through Tonks as she instantly recognized her hated aunt. As the two of them whirled toward the sound Belatrix Lestrange shimmered into view as she dropped her own disillusionment. "Come on, little Nymph. Don't you want to play?"

Remus and Tonks canceled their disillusioning charms and Tonks quickly fired a stunner, trying to catch her aunt off guard, but the older witch easily moved out of the way. "Oh my, surely you can do better than that?" Bella taunted. "Perhaps you've been debasing yourself with beasts too much. Has he rubbed off on you?" Without warming a white bolt flashed from her wand. Remus and Tonks dove apart as the blasting hex exploded between where they had been standing. Scrambling to their feet, they returned fire and the dual was on in earnest.

-----

Hermione's wand was a blur as she parried spells from her four attackers and Harry hurled hexes faster than she had ever seen. All of their spells were silently cast and the appearance of the pair, grimly silent as a blazing array of light flew from their wands in a constant stream brought to mind George's description of a week earlier. They were truly scary together.

But the two of them had never faced odds like this. Snape was as skilled a duelist as they had ever seen, and it was clear that Draco had been training, probably as much as they had this summer. Crabbe and Goyle were less skilled, but could not be ignored either. Harry focused nearly all of his effort on Snape and Malfoy, throwing a spell at Crabbe or Goyle every so often just to keep them off balance. The initial flurry surprised their opponents and threw them back a little.

Severus Snape was taken aback. Was this the same boy he had toyed with on the grounds of Hogwarts less than two months ago? Both his and the mudblood's minds were closed off to him so he had no idea what spell was coming until it was cast. But no matter, the four of them together would soon overwhelm the foolish Gryffindors. Slowly, the Slytherins began to move forward.

Harry and Hermione held their ground at first, the long hours of practice in working as a team paying off against the uncoordinated assault of their adversaries. But as the four began to spread out it became more difficult to keep track of them all at once. Hermione had to begin to let some spells through, relying on their dodging ability and their armor to keep the damage to a minimum. As their foes started moving to their sides, the pair began to retreat to keep themselves from getting into a deadly crossfire.

Abruptly Harry realized the danger as they backed away. _'They're going to get Ron!'_ Their friend's prostrate form now lay between the combatants and would soon be within the grasp of their enemies. Harry forced himself not to think of what might happen if Ron were captured.

Hermione seemed to have exactly the same thought and together they stopped retreating and redoubled their attack. _'Reduce the odds!'_ The thought appeared in Harry's mind in the voice he had come to associate with Hermione. Putting his trust completely in Hermione's shields, he abandoned his focus on Snape and Malfoy and threw his most powerful stunning spells, first at Crabbe on the right, then Goyle on the left. The two behemoths dropped to the ground. In a blink the contest had changed. They were now fighting on even terms.

-----

Wands flashed and spells flew as Remus and Tonks took on one of Voldemort's top Death Eaters. Practicing all summer with Harry and Hermione had not just improved the skills of the teens. Remus and Tonks were now better fighters than they had ever been. But no matter what they tried, they could not land a knockout spell on Bellatrix. Dancing and twirling, dodging or deflecting everything they shot at her, and throwing deadly counterspells of her own, she was constantly just out of reach. But the two pressed on. If she was here, the trio might be in trouble too. They had to end this quickly and find the others.

Tonks dropped to the ground and rolled away from Remus, firing the whole time. As they split farther apart, Bella was having more trouble keeping them both in sight. It was just a matter of time now.

-----

Two on two, Harry and Hermione gradually gained the upper hand. Now nothing was getting through Hermione's shields, and all the effort put into conditioning began to come into play. Draco was clearly getting winded, and Snape was showing signs of strain as well. All at once Snape made a motion to Draco and ran toward Crabbe. Draco likewise sprinted to Goyle. Before Harry and Hermione could react both had grabbed the unconscious wizards and disapparated away.

Hermione slumped against Harry as his arm automatically went around her and they caught their breaths. Glad for the respite, they knew they still had to be on their guard. They hurried forward to Ron. A quick check showed that he was OK and they stood up, relieved. Just as Hermione was about to enervate him, a double pop in front of them announced that they had company again. This time they were ready. Hermione had a shield up and Harry had begun a blasting hex even as the enemy had finished appearing.

But the Slytherin strategy had changed. Snape and Malfoy had enervated Crabbe and Goyle and given new instructions. As soon as they appeared they ignored Harry completely and each one sent the most powerful bludgeoning hex they could muster straight at Hermione.

There was no way any shield could have withstood the impact. Hermione was blown back ten feet and fell to the ground hard. Before she could recover, a disarming spell caught her cleanly and her wand flew away. Harry was on his own.

But Harry had not been idle. Even before Hermione had hit the ground, he had knocked Crabbe unconscious once more and by the time she was disarmed Goyle had joined him in dreamland. With a silent fury he confronted the two nemeses that had made the last six years of his life a living hell. Faster than ever before he threw spell after spell at the pair, and it was all they could do to fend him off. Without even looking he could sense that Hermione was uninjured but he moved in front of her, knowing that she was defenseless without her wand.

Now recovering from his initial barrage of spells, Draco and Snape began to take the offensive. Harry realized that he was in trouble. He could not dodge without risking a spell hitting Hermione and he could not move away from the spot where Ron still lay. Knowing this, the Slytherin pair separated just as Tonks and Remus were doing in their battle with Bella on the opposite side of the mansion.

And then it happened. Just as Harry succeeded in landing a disarming spell on Draco, Snape hit him with a pair of his deadly Sectumsempra slashing hexes. Although the dragonhide armor took the brunt of the spells, a long gash opened on his left leg and his right arm was cut nearly to the bone. He fell to his knees, his leg no longer able to hold him. His wand dropped to the ground beneath him an instant before Snape's final disarming spell hit him. With a final groan, Harry Potter collapsed, unconscious.

Hermione stood alone, wandless, over the bodies of her two best friends. Keeping a wary eye on Snape, she prepared to dodge whatever he threw her way even as her mind flew through escape scenarios. Their emergency portkeys were wand activated and useless. She was right above Harry and might be able to grab him and apparate away, but that would mean leaving Ron to a certain death. She just could not bring herself to do that.

Snape was casting a spell and she readied herself to dodge, but nothing happened. Then she realized what it was – he had cast an antiapparation jinx on her. One less option, she thought grimly.

Snape scoffed at her as he revived Crabbe and Goyle and Draco retrieved his wand. "Doesn't the insufferable know-it-all have any answers this time? Pity that such intellect was wasted on a mudblood." Turning to Draco he handed him a portkey and said, "Make sure Potter gets back to the Dark Lord alive. Kill the other two. I must look in on Bella." Without another word he whirled and disapparated.

As Crabbe and Goyle struggled to their feet Draco gave Hermione a look of pure loathing. "Not so tough now are you Mudblood?" Not without your precious Gryffindor heroes to back you up. What do you think we should do with the mudblood whore?" he smirked at his two oafish friends. "Which one of these two do you think she's been spreading her legs for? She was drooling after the Weasel all year, do you think she finally caught him? Or maybe she let Potty get into her knickers." Crabbe and Goyle laughed uproariously at this, as if it were the funniest thing in the world. "How pathetic. She's probably been doing both of them."

Hermione forced herself to ignore his taunts, knowing that reacting would do her no good. She ruthlessly forced back the panic that was creeping up on her. She had to think! _Come on, Granger, use that brain of yours_. Her mind rapidly scrolled through her options. If she moved fast she could grab Harry's wand where it lay, unnoticed by any of the three beneath his body. If she could touch one or more of their portkeys, she could get them away. But the probability of succeeding without getting stunned was vanishingly small.

"What do you think, do you want to try her?" Draco continued spouting his disgusting suggestions. "That's all mudbloods are good for anyway. Get her clothes off and see what she's got. Who wants to go first?" The brainless sidekicks grinned at each other and licked their lips. They had been promised that they would be rewarded with naked blood traitor females for their enjoyment when they joined the Dark Lord and this would be their first opportunity.

-----

Remus and Tonks had Bellatrix on the ropes and were on the verge of disarming her when Snape suddenly apparated twenty feet away. Remus immediately turned his attention to his old enemy leaving Tonks to duel Bella. Remus and Snape were reasonably well matched and neither could gain the upper hand. Not so Bellatrix and Tonks.

All her life, Tonks had heard about her legendary aunt. According to family lore, Bella and Sirius were the top duelists of their age. Growing up the two cousins had tested themselves against each other constantly, continually sharpening their skills until they were without peer. But when Bella had been sorted into Slytherin and Sirius into Gryffindor, they had gradually grown apart as Sirius had made friends with James Potter and Bella had embraced the dark arts. The story went that after one incredible duel during their fourth year they had refused to ever face each other again. Until the Department of Mysteries where her aunt had killed her favorite cousin.

Tonks remembered very clearly what else had happened that night. Bellatrix had first defeated her before taking on Sirius. Because of her failure to stop her aunt, she had blamed herself for Sirius's death ever since. Now, she realized that the stakes were even higher. If Bella bested her this time, the man she loved would die as well. She could not fail!

But Bellatrix was not only highly skilled, she was truly evil. Just as they were getting into a pattern of attack and defense, she unexpectedly dropped to the ground under one of Tonks's spells and pointed her wand, not at Tonks, but at Remus.

"Avada Kedavra." Ignoring the next spell from Tonks, Bella launched the fatal spell at the unsuspecting werewolf. Instantly Tonks hurled herself at her love, knocking him to the ground just as the green streak passed through where he had been standing. Even though her final spell had caused her evil aunt to throw herself prone on the ground, losing her wand, Tonks realized immediately that they had lost. Snape, being the only one still standing, wasted no time in disarming his two opponents.

The other three slowly got to their feet, Bellatrix in triumph, Tonks and Remus in despair. Bellatrix regained her wand and resumed her gloating. Snape also stood there with his trademark sneer, clearly relishing the impending death of his longtime foe.

"You have failed once again," came the oily voice. "Even now Potter is on his way to the Dark Lord. He will be killed for his impudence at last and there will be none left to oppose my lord's return to power." Tonks felt her stomach churn. Was it truly over? Beside her she could sense her lover tense up, preparing for one last charge, futile though it might be. Not even a werewolf was fast enough to disarm Bellatrix Lestrange.

-----

As Crabbe and Goyle moved toward Hermione Crabbe made a very crude comment about finally finding a way to shut up the know-it-all mudblood. Hermione realized her time had run out. Even though she had been trying to keep calm, the words 'try her' and 'clothes off' had got her attention. She was about to be raped and killed, and Voldemort would have Harry. As her mind threatened to give in to despair she forced it to search for another way out. Her hand was on her hidden dagger; the first one to touch her would at least precede her in death. But that would still leave two. She would have to kill one and then go for the wand while the other two were trying to rip her clothing off.

Another image flicked into her mind as these thoughts surged through at lightning speed. An image of Harry saying, _"an emergency that might include me being knocked out"_.

Without warning Hermione let out a piercing scream and dropped to her knees. "Harry!" she screamed. "WAKE UP! I need you. Please Harry wake up." She grabbed the front of his shirt, shaking him in a futile attempt to revive him.

Crabbe and Goyle stopped only a few yards away, surprised by her sudden collapse. They laughed heartily at the spectacle. They had been looking forward to seeing the obnoxious little mudblood get hers for a long time. Draco joined them in laughter and started to make another sarcastic comment, but was interrupted.

Hermione had looked up and brought her hands up and folded together, in one last plea for her life. "No, please don't! Stay away! Stay away!"

The three Slytherins laughed again and Draco motioned to the other two. "Go ahead, do it."

BLAM, BLAM, BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!

From the disillusioned handgun that she had seized from the concealed holster on Harry's chest, Hermione had fired three rapid shots into Draco's chest, then quickly swung left then right, firing one shot at each of the others. She paused, with three shots in reserve. The results were deadly.

The .45 caliber automatic had long been prized by the American military for a very important feature they called stopping power. The powerful slug fired by this pistol did so much damage to tissue that even a wound was devastating, and anyone hit by a slug rarely got up.

Draco had a massive hole in his chest and had died instantly. Goyle, to her left, had a gaping wound in his leg and had collapsed, dropping his wand to clutch at his thigh, blood streaming through his fingers. Her shot at Crabbe had hit him in the upper right arm, and his wand had gone flying from his hand. He fell to his knees in shock, clutching his now useless right arm with his left, and staring at the witch in front of him who had shot such a large, incredibly painful spell at him with her bare hands.

Hermione shifted the gun to her left hand, and never taking her eyes off her wounded enemies, reached under Harry and groped with her right until she found his wand.

"Stupefy! Stupefy!" For the third time in fifteen minutes Crabbe and Goyle fell, stunned, possibly for the last time. Hermione slumped back on her heels and gasped for breath, noticing for the first time that her heart was attempting to pound its way out of her chest. Every part of her body wanted to collapse beside him and her mind screamed at her to be allowed to shut down, but once more she forced herself to her feet. Even though she was out of immediate danger, she had a long way to go before she was safe. First she used Harry's wand to close up the gashes on his leg and arm as best as she could. Next, she summoned all five of the other wands to her and looked around. She had to hide the gun. She clicked the safety back on, removed the holster from Harry and put the reholstered revolver into her pack. Then she stood still for a moment, trying to decide what to do next.

-----

Tonks steeled herself. If Remus was going to go down fighting, so would she. She would take them on with her bare hands if necessary.

Without warning a staccato series of light pops filled the air, punctuated by some louder pops that seemed to come from the other side of the mansion. Bellatrix whirled to face the new threat as Snape backed away, keeping one eye on them and one on the new arrivals. A gleam filled Bella's eye as she awaited the new challenge. Tonks eyes widened as she recognized the now familiar black robes of Krum's elite strike force. The cavalry had arrived!

The legend of Bellatrix Lestrange was that besides Sirius, only one person had ever been able to land a spell on her, the Auror that had finally captured her after her torture of the Longbottoms. And that had only been after she had taken out a half dozen other Aurors. The legend was slightly mistaken, though. What no one knew was that Harry Potter had also hit her with a spell, in a one-on-one duel just a year earlier. And while Harry Potter may have been one of the best seekers in Hogwarts history, with amazingly fast reflexes, there was a professional seeker who was regarded as the best in the world, and likely even faster still. Viktor Krum.

Bellatrix Lestrange never had a chance.

-----

Harry was still on the ground, unconscious and bleeding. He needed medical attention soon if he was to survive. Something needed to be done with Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. While Hermione was thinking she absently waved her wand at the unconscious lumps on the ground cauterizing their wounds. She could portkey Harry to Grimmauld Place, but could not leave them behind. Then she thought of another option.

"Dobby?" she called out tentatively. Up until now, Harry had always been the one to summon the loyal house elf, and she wasn't sure if he would respond to her.

Pop. She let go a long breath in relief as Dobby appeared before her.

"Harry Potter's Miss Hermione called Dobby? Is yous be needing help?" Just then the little elf saw Harry lying on the ground in a pool of blood. "Harry Potter is hurt! Dobby will get help!" Without further warning Dobby disappeared.

_Fred and George! Maybe they can help._ Hermione pulled her cell phone out of her pack and punched the number.

"Fred? We're in big trouble. We got ambushed and … yes we're OK now but we have some prisoners to hide. Just a minute." Dobby had returned.

"Winky is getting Hogwarts healer for Harry Potter. What else can Dobby do?"

"Can you take these three to Fred and George's shop?" Dobby inspected the three bodies lying on the ground and shook his head.

"House elves can only pop with wizards if wizards is wanting to be popped." Then he saw Draco and glared at his hated former master. "This one is dead. Dobby can pop with dead animal." He pointed his finger at Draco's body and instantly a dead white ferret appeared. Dobby picked it up with a look of disgust on his face.

"Fred, I'm going to send Dobby to get you." Hermione said back into the phone. Fred and George would have to come to pick up Crabbe and Goyle. "He'll be there in a few seconds." As she turned to explain his next mission to Dobby she noticed that he was already gone.

Two more pops had Hermione's wand out and ready with a stunner. It was Winky and Madame Pomfrey. Wearily she lowered her wand, thinking that her nerves could not take much more of this. Pomfrey rushed to Harry and immediately cast a diagnostic spell and sealed his still bleeding wounds.

"I need to get Mr. Potter to the infirmary immediately," Poppy said, looking up at Hermione for the first time. "Is everyone else going to be all right?"

Hermione nodded, despite having her body screaming otherwise. "We're OK, just stunned." Pomfrey pulled out a portkey and disappeared.

Hermione next enervated Ron. As he was coming to, more pops announced the arrival of Fred and George with Dobby. She tried to fill everyone in at once as the twins examined the unconscious thugs.

"Ambushed …Harry and I fought them off for awhile but they knocked me down and then got Harry …were going to rape me and kill us but I stopped them … have to hide them because no one can find out what I did to them." The world had started to spin and she was having trouble completing her thoughts. The horror of what she had just been through began to dawn on her. She had almost been brutally gang raped and murdered. She began to shudder uncontrollably. Ron grabbed her and held her up, not quite believing what he had just heard. As she relaxed in his arms suddenly all the repressed strain, both mental and physical, finally broke through like floodwaters breaching a dam and poured into her. Everything went black.

Ron caught the suddenly limp body he was holding and carefully picked her up. Had he heard it right? Hermione had faced these three all alone and defeated them? His mind refused to think about the rest of what she had said. As he looked down into her battered and dirty face it struck him that he was holding the most amazing woman he would ever meet in his arms.

"Oi! Quit looking at your best mate's girl like that."

"What …What do you mean? He's with Ginny."

"Lil bro, take a look at the two of them together sometime. The way they read each other they could be twins. Harry may officially be with Ginny but the two of them are incredible when they team up. One way or another, they belong together."

Ron looked back down at the woman in his arms, trying to grasp what his brothers were telling him. It just wasn't right.

"Take care of her, OK? We've got to get rid of these two." And with that Fred and George disappeared with Crabbe and Goyle.

Dobby and Winky were still standing there waiting for further instructions, but Winky was trembling. Ron suddenly realized why – she was back here at the Crouch estate, her former home. He carefully laid Hermione down on the ground. She was exhausted, not stunned, so an enervate would have no effect. She would wake up eventually on her own. He considered his options carefully. He could portkey her back to Grimmauld Place and be done with this whole disastrous episode. But if Voldemort was alerted to their presence here, this might be their only chance at this horcrux. It was up to him to finish the mission.

Fishing the invisibility cloak out of his pack, he spread it out over Hermione and turned to the two house elves. He would need both of their help. He thought carefully. Harry could get them to do anything. How did he do it? Then it came to him. It was in the way he treated them – like friends rather than servants.

Ron knelt down in front of them, causing their eyes to go wide. "I need your help," he said carefully. Dobby nodded but Winky just continued to stare at him, trembling, so he first addressed himself to Dobby. "I need you to watch Hermione and make sure she stays safe while I go into the house. Can you do that?"

Dobby nodded eagerly. "Dobby takes good care of Miss Hermione. He will make sure nothing happens to her."

Then Ron turned to Winky. This was going to be the tricky part. His inclination was to order her to help him, because she was the Weasley house elf now, but six years of friendship with Hermione Granger and Harry Potter had begun to have an effect. "Winky, I need you to help me." But Winky started shaking her head, still trembling. While at the Weasley house she might have been more willing to give him information, but here at the house to which she had been bound, it was not possible for her to betray her former masters. Her magic would not permit it.

Ron pondered the problem, approaching it like a chess match. When one move is blocked, try another. He couldn't order her to do it. He couldn't plead with her to do it. That left reasoning with her. But how did one reason with a house elf? He thought some more. Precious time was ticking away. Somehow he needed to persuade her that what he wanted her to do was in her former master's best interest.

"Winky," he began again. "There is a very bad wizard out there." Winky nodded. She knew about the bad wizard. "The bad wizard put a part of himself inside some things. One of these things is inside this house." Winky started trembling again. Even though He Who Must Not Be Named was a bad wizard, Master Barty had wanted that thing in the house.

"This thing is very dangerous and can hurt people inside the house." Winky's eyes grew wide. A danger to Master? Ron suddenly had an inspiration. "There was another of these bad things in Dobby's former master's house." Winky turned her wide eyes to Dobby, who looked confused. "The diary Dobby, remember? The diary he gave to Ginny?" Dobby suddenly realized what Ron was talking about and nodded eagerly.

"It was a very bad book," Dobby assured her. "Dobby's former master gave it to Miss Ginny. The bad book was very bad for Miss Ginny. But Harry Potter destroyed the bad book."

"Winky, the evil wizard in the bad book took control of Ginny and made her do bad things," Ron continued.

"No, no, no," objected Winky. "Mistress Ginny is not bad. She is a good witch."

"Yes, she is a good witch. Harry Potter destroyed the bad book and made the bad wizard leave Ginny alone," Ron reassured her. Winky nodded. She knew that Mistress Ginny was not a bad witch.

Ron took a deep breath. This just might work. "The bad wizard gave the bad cup to Master Barty. It made him do bad things too."

"No, no. Master Barty was not a bad wizard."

"But the bad wizard in the cup made Master Barty do bad things." Winky didn't know what to say. She did not want to admit that Master Barty was a bad wizard but she knew that he had done bad things. Maybe it was all the bad cup's fault.

"We need to take the bad cup out of the house so it will not make anyone else do bad things. Harry Potter will destroy the bad cup too."

Winky hesitated. She looked to her friend Dobby. Dobby was nodding again. "Harry Potter can destroy the bad cup and get rid of the bad wizard. Harry Potter is a great wizard."

Ron scooted forward and put his hand on Winky's shoulder. He didn't think he had ever touched a house elf this way, but he knew that Harry and Hermione had given these elves hugs. Winky looked back at him, still trembling but with a determined look on her face. "Winky will help Master Wheezy. She will help him get the bad cup."

Ron smiled at the little elf and pulled her into a hug. "Thank you Winky. We will get the cup and Harry will destroy it so it can't make anyone do bad things again. He pulled out a piece of paper. Hermione had found a picture of Hufflepuff's cup in a book and had made a copy of it using some kind of muggle machine. He showed the picture to Winky. "This is a picture of the bad cup. Do you know where it is?" Winky nodded

Ron stood up and stretched, then looked down and held out his hand to Winky. The little house elf took his hand and concentrated, and suddenly they were gone.

-----

Once Bellatrix was down Snape had only taken a few more seconds to subdue, but not before he had stunned both Remus and Tonks. The shocked looks on the faces of the pair when they realized that they were unable to apparate away were quite satisfying to Krum and Troy. Two members of the strike team had shackled Bellatrix and portkeyed her to the dungeon and now two more were taking Snape away. Remus and Tonks had finally been revived and Krum was checking in with the two. As he was about to explain about the anti-apparation wards and how they had managed to shorten their response time Remus suddenly went pale and said. "What about Harry?"

They quickly explained to Krum that Harry, Hermione, and Ron were on the other side of the mansion on a mission and grimly repeated what Snape had told them. Balancing the need for speed and caution, the three of them and Troy disillusioned themselves and as silently as possible apparated to the front of the mansion. After a little searching they came across the site where the battle had taken place, and noticed all the blood on the ground. No one was in sight. Krum and Tonks looked at each other in despair, but Remus had sensed something. Someone or something was silently watching them.

Dobby was staying hidden, guarding Miss Hermione as he had been instructed. But he knew that these three were friends. When Remus looked right at the spot where he was hiding he revealed himself.

"Dobby! What happened? Where is everyone?"

Not sure what he should say, Dobby opted for minimal information. "Everyone is fine. Harry Potter sir was hurt but is being taken to Hogwarts to be fixed up. Miss Hermione is all right too. Master Wheezy is with Winky. Dobby is being waiting for them to come back."

Remus and Tonks shared a glance, silently connecting the dots. "Is there anyone that we can help? We can take someone to Hogwarts with us."

Dobby thought, then nodded. Miss Hermione should be at Hogwarts with Harry Potter. He pulled aside the invisibility cloak, revealing Hermione's unconscious form. Remus quickly gathered her up, and after the group decided that the rest would wait with Dobby for Ron and Winky, apparated away.

-----

Ron and Winky silently crept through the darkened Crouch mansion. No one had been here since the end of the Triwizard tournament and a layer of dust covered everything. Not knowing what defensive spells might be present, he avoided lighting his wand, trusting Winky to guide him to Hufflepuff's cup. Finally they reached the room where it had been kept. It was in a display case with several other ancient artifacts. Ron's strategic sense admired the deception. Hidden in plain sight. As he started forward Winky grabbed his leg. He looked down to see her shaking her head violently.

"No, no Master Wheezy. It is too dangerous. Winky must get it." The little elf shuddered again, then moved slowly toward the display case and with a gesture unlocked it. She had been told by Master Barty never to touch this cup. But it was a bad cup. It had hurt Master Barty. She had to get it out of the house. She reached up and just as she touched it there was a bright flash and she was hurled across the room and smashed into the wall. The cup clattered noisily to the floor.

Ron froze. Several seconds ticked by and nothing else happened. Silently he made his way over to Winky's prone figure. He breathed a sigh of relief as he discovered that she was only knocked out. He turned back to where the cup lay on the floor. He still didn't want to use magic in the house so he couldn't simply levitate the cup, but he also didn't want to touch it. How would a muggle pick up something he couldn't touch?

Looking around, Ron noticed a heavy set of curtains along one wall, tied back by a sash. He carefully removed the sash, and brought it over to the cup. Threading one end of the sash through one of the arms of the cup, he brought it back up and tied a knot. Using his makeshift carrying handle, he finally brought the cup over to where Winky still lay, and picked up the brave little elf. Concentrating on the spot where he had left Dobby and Hermione, he disapparated out of the mansion.

---------------------


	21. Recovery

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Thanks to Old Crow and Dee for their helpful suggestions on this chapter. Thanks especially to Dee for helping write Hermione's nightmare.

**---------------**

**Chapter 21, Recovery**

"No! No! Stay back!" Hermione suddenly bolted awake and looked around. In a moment she realized that she was in the Hogwarts hospital wing. She had certainly been here often enough sitting by Harry to recognize the place. She looked over at the bed that everyone considered to be 'his' bed and saw that Harry was indeed in it. She climbed out of her bed and walked over to look at him. He seemed OK but was still unconscious. Retrieving her wand from the table beside her bed she cast some diagnostic charms on him. She had watched Madame Pomfrey cast these charms on Harry often enough that she had learned most of them. She relaxed as the charms showed that he was all right, but would probably be out for quite a while longer.

Her concern for Harry alleviated, her mind returned to the nightmare that had awoken her. She suddenly realized that she was still exhausted, but as she looked back at her bed she shuddered. She had been reliving the attack and couldn't bear to go through it again. Realizing she was about to fall asleep on her feet, she looked down at Harry and made a decision. She pulled back the cover and climbed into his bed and snuggled up next to him. Harry would protect her, she thought sleepily. He was good at that.

-----

Madame Pomfrey emerged from her office to check on her charges, and noticed one empty bed and one with two occupants. While her inclination was to order Miss Granger back to her own bed, she realized that nothing inappropriate was occurring. Indeed, she discovered as she performed her usual checks, Mr. Potter was still unconscious. And these were two of the most responsible students in the school. She paused to consider. Fred Weasley had stopped in to tell her briefly of the ordeal that Hermione had endured and she was well aware that her emotional recovery would take some time. Deciding that her patient's mental healing was more important than propriety, she smiled at the two and went back to her office.

-----

August 9

Hermione awoke, feeling refreshed after a nice sleep. The nightmare had not returned. As she gradually became aware of her surroundings, she realized that her head was lying on Harry's chest and his arm was around her. Embarrassed to find herself in such a position, she carefully disengaged and returned to her own bed. As she recalled all of the details of the previous night, she had mixed feelings about what she had done. She knew that she would have been in trouble if anyone had found her in Harry's bed, but it _had_ kept her nightmare from coming back. At the time she had just been too tired to think it through.

Just then Madame Pomfrey came through the door, and from the look on her face Hermione realized that the nurse knew what she had done. Her face reddened as she began to stammer an apology, but Pomfrey waved it off and asked Hermione to give her more details about the attack. After her carefully edited explanation, the nurse explained that Hermione might continue to have these nightmares for some time and told why she had permitted the previous night's sleeping arrangement. When Hermione admitted that she had slept much better after changing beds, Pomfrey told her that she should not hesitate to seek whatever comfort she could if the nightmare returned, but cautioned her to behave responsibly. Amazed that she had got off so lightly, Hermione quickly got dressed and left the infirmary.

-----

Minerva McGonagall sat in her office pondering what she had just learned. Ron Weasley had just been in to see her, triumphantly presenting the final horcrux. Only Nagini and Voldemort remained. From the story he had told, it had almost been a disaster, with the three of them either killed or captured. Somehow Miss Granger had defeated her three attackers after Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley had fallen, although it was unclear how she had accomplished that or what had happened to Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. Earlier Remus had reported that Bellatrix Lestrange and Severus Snape had also been captured. It had actually turned out to be a major victory for the light side.

McGonagall permitted herself a small smile. With this news it was much more likely that the trio would return to Hogwarts in the fall. Their presence at the school was essential to her plans. Things were looking better and better and it was nearly certain that Hogwarts would survive. Mr. Potter and Miss Granger's visits to the muggleborn families had been remarkably successful. Nearly every one of them had agreed to return their children to the school. Now, she had only one more hire to make.

-----

Harry groaned as he awoke, feeling the pain in his leg and arm. Suddenly he sat upright, only to collapse back into the bed as dizziness threatened to overtake him. _ Hermione! Ron! What had happened to them?_ Immediately he was aware of a pair of hands restraining him.

"Mr. Potter. You must rest. Don't worry, both of your friends are all right." Madame Pomfrey was familiar enough with this patient that she automatically knew what his concern would be. Ron had been in to check up on Harry and filled in a few more details, and Hermione had said that she would return after taking care of a little unfinished business. After hearing this Harry relaxed and let himself go back to sleep. Just before dozing off he realized that he had had another dream about Hermione. _At least she had all her clothes on this time, _he thought to himself. As he recalled the dream, it seemed that Hermione had only been snuggled up against him. His last coherent thought before falling back asleep was that that was probably OK. After all, they hugged all the time.

-----

Remus, Tonks, and Viktor sat in the back room of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, listening to Fred and George conclude their tale. When Viktor had related his part of the story he had been immensely satisfied that it had been less than a minute from the time his team had detected the Avada Kedavra curse being cast until they arrived at the scene, and everyone was impressed at how quickly they had engaged the enemy while two of his men had put up the antiapparation wards. The twins' information was more sobering. Finally they pieced most of the story together and everyone realized how lucky they had been. The only thing that was still troubling them was the nature of the wounds that Hermione had inflicted on her attackers.

"You say there were gaping holes in them, that seemed to be caused by small bits of metal?" Remus asked again for clarification. The twins nodded. "And what did you do with them when you brought them back here?"

"Malfoy was already dead. Crabbe and Goyle didn't survive either. Apparently they had lost too much blood."

"Didn't you have any blood restorative potion handy?"

"Must have slipped our minds." The twins stared defiantly at the others, and eventually the three nodded their acknowledgement. They were well aware of what the three Slytherins had planned for Hermione, and for Ron, and somehow weren't inclined to be too sympathetic.

Tonks broke the silence. "I think she must have used a muggle weapon. Like what they were describing to us two weeks ago, only smaller. My dad would know about it."

Viktor added, "Maybe we can ask him or the muggles who are helping us if they know what it was."

Remus frowned thoughtfully, then responded, "No, I think we just let it go. If Harry and Hermione want to keep a weapon secret, that's their business."

Viktor was the one who finally raised the question. "It wasn't an accident that they were there waiting for you, was it?" Remus and Tonks shared a look, then looked at the others and shook their heads. Viktor's response was simple. "Who?"

"The only ones who knew about it were the three of them and the two of us," said Tonks. "And Moody," she added.

"And Winky," pointed out Remus. Then after a pause he sighed. "And Ragnok."

"So you think …"

"I don't know what to think. I guess I think Harry's going to need to be more careful who he trusts."

-----

"Hey sleepyhead. You're finally awake." Harry looked up and smiled as Hermione and Ron came through the door to the hospital wing. Ron settled into the chair beside the bed as Hermione sat on the bed itself, Harry scooting over to make room. She colored slightly as she remembered that she had shared this bed with him the night before. Neither Harry nor Ron noticed, however, and soon the trio was discussing the battle, Harry and Hermione filling Ron in on what he had missed, then Hermione taking up the story from the point where Harry had been knocked out. When she got to the part about the .45, she hesitated and looked at Ron.

Realizing what she was about to say, Harry turned to Ron. "Mate, this next part has to be kept super secret. Absolutely no one can know about the weapon Hermione used on those three." Ron nodded solemnly and Hermione reached into her pack and produced the gun and removed the disillusionment disk.

"That thing took out all three of them?" Ron asked incredulously. Hermione assured him that it had, and quickly put it away. She did not want to think about it anymore than she had to. Ron then finished the story from the point where Hermione had passed out. There was silence until Ron asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

"They were there waiting for us weren't they?" Harry and Hermione looked at each other, then at Ron and they both nodded grimly. "How?"

"The only ones who knew about it were Remus and Tonks," mused Harry.

"And Moody," added Hermione.

"Moody? Could he have let something slip?" asked Harry.

"I guess we need to find out who else he might have told," suggested Ron.

"Anybody else who knew?"

"Winky." Pause. "Ragnok."

"Definitely not Winky," Ron asserted. "Not with the way she helped me."

"And there's no reason for Ragnok to have told anybody," reasoned Harry. "What would be the benefit for him to give us such valuable information just to sell us out? He could just as well have given it to Voldemort in the first place. And he's certainly better off if we win than he would be if Voldemort won.

Knowing that there was nothing else they could do about it just then, Ron and Harry played a game of chess while Hermione pulled out a book. Eventually Madame Pomfrey came to tell them it was time to go. Harry would be able to leave in the morning.

Hermione lingered behind as Ron left. "Harry? I talked to McGonagall and Dumbledore's portrait about that list."

Harry looked back at her, an unreadable expression on his face. She went on, "Dumbledore told me the same thing he told you, that as far as he knew, Petunia was your only surviving relative. Your mum's parents died shortly after you were born." She hesitated.

"But …" Harry prompted.

"But McGonagall didn't know why their names would still be on the list." At Harry's questioning look she shrugged, "It doesn't surprise me, really. The wizarding world pretty much ignores muggle parents. The only time my parents have been contacted since I started at Hogwarts was this June when the school closed early." She winced as she finished saying this, not having wanted to remind Harry about Dumbledore's death.

There was silence as Harry processed this information. Fortunately he didn't seem to react to the reminder.

"They told me some other things," Hermione resumed. "Your parents were buried at Potter Mansion. It was on the list you got from Gringotts," she added, seeing his look of surprise. "I think you missed it because you were so interested in the castle." He nodded and she continued. "Some of Lily's personal things were sent to your aunt, including her wand. They were both surprised that Petunia never told you any of this."

This was getting to be too much for Harry to take. He slumped back onto his pillow. Hermione had crossed back over to his bed and was sitting beside him again. She stroked his head, trying to comfort him.

"That reminds me of when I first met Hagrid." Harry had his eyes closed, and was trying to recall the scene. "He was really angry with them, but he was also surprised that they hadn't ever told me anything. He expected me to know who I was." He opened his eyes and looked up at her, his eyes starting to tear up. "So no one here ever knew that Aunt Petunia had kept me in the dark, or anything else about what they did to me. What else do you think she didn't tell me?"

He closed his eyes again. "All I remember is that when Dudley asked about his grandparents she told us that they died when we were little. She said they they died in a … in a …" he buried his head in his hands and continued in a very small voice, "car crash." Hermione suddenly realized – it was the same story they had told him about how his own parents had died.

He looked so devastated, Hermione just wanted to lie down next to him and hold him and never let go. Hold him and somehow make all the pain go away. And in the meantime hurt the people who had done this to him. But she suppressed that emotion, trying to control her anger. Harry needed to finish healing; he didn't need to be any more upset. "I, um, pointed out to the portrait and the headmistress the error in their assumptions."

This made Harry smile. "Somewhat forcefully, I imagine?"

She smiled back. "Perhaps a little." She continued running her hand over his forehead and into his hair and he gradually relaxed with a contented look on his face, keeping his eyes closed.

"That's my Hermione," he murmured, "always taking care of me." He didn't notice the dampness in her eyes, or the other hand that she quietly raised to wipe them dry.

"I'll see what else I can find out," she said finally, rising to leave.

"Hermione?" She turned back at the doorway. "Thank you." She smiled back at him and then she was gone.

As she left the infirmary, she decided that it was a good thing Harry couldn't see the look on her face right now. She would most definitely be paying another visit to the Dursleys. And this time she wouldn't be very nice.

-----

August 10

When Harry was finally allowed to leave the hospital wing, he had an unusual conversation with Madame Pomfrey. She explained to him about what had happened to Hermione and then asked him a question.

"Mr. Potter, do I understand correctly that you are sharing a house with Miss Granger this summer?"

"Uh, yes, but we have separate bedrooms."

"I'm sure you do. I have a request for you. Miss Granger is likely to have nightmares of her near assault for a while. Would it be possible for you to leave your bedroom doors open so that you might be aware when that occurs?" Upon receiving an affirmative reply she continued. "I'm giving you several doses of dreamless sleep potion. But it may be possible for you to comfort her in other ways when she has these nightmares. Please do whatever you feel works the best for her." When Harry nodded again, she concluded. "Miss Granger is a very strong person, and is also very lucky to have you as a friend. I'm sure that you will be able to get her through this."

-----

Harry sighed happily as he walked into the Granger house. It had been a rough couple of days and he was looking forward to relaxing by the pool. They hadn't been able to use it much at all during the past month. He knew that Hermione had taken Ginny out shopping for her birthday that morning but was hoping she would be able to join him this afternoon. He thought he heard her in her room as he walked by and called out a greeting. Strangely, the only response was giggling. Shrugging, he decided he would find out later what that was all about.

To his amazement both Ginny and Hermione were standing there waiting for him when he walked outside, big smiles on their faces as they knew they had surprised him. He froze as he looked at Ginny. She was wearing the suit Hermione had worn the very first day he had swum at the Grangers, mint green with a floral print. The suit that had fit Hermione at age fourteen was perfect on the sixteen year old Ginny and the color was spectacular with her red hair and pale skin. His eyes flickered over her, not able to decide where to linger. Her legs, her waist, her breasts – wow!

For her part Ginny was also stunned. Harry was wearing the racing suit that had made Hermione blush the first time she had seen it, and the effect on Ginny was much greater because she had never seen a swimsuit like that. Indeed, she had never seen that much of the male anatomy of even her brothers, much less a guy that she had decidedly nonbrotherly interest in. She stood mesmerized, gradually turning a bright shade of red.

After watching them imitate statues for a while Hermione took matters into her own hands. "Oh honestly," she said and took Harry's hand and led him over to the pool and without warning pushed him in. Then she grabbed Ginny and pushed her right on top of Harry, who had recovered just in time to see a bikini clad redhead coming his way. He managed to put his arms up and catch her just as she arrived with a splash. With a barely clothed, wet girl in his arms Harry did the obvious thing.

He started tickling her.

Harry quickly learned about the dangers of starting a tickling battle with a girl who 1) was wearing a very distracting bikini, 2) had grown up with six older brothers, and 3) had help from his traitorous best friend who entered the battle by splashing water in his face at every opportunity. In no time they had him pinned against the wall.

"I surrender!" he gasped helplessly, holding up his hands for mercy.

"Some hero you are," chortled Ginny. "How are you going to defeat You-Know-Who if you can't even beat two girls?" After everyone went silent she put her head down and mumbled, "OK, that was real mood breaker."

Refusing to let the mood be broken, Harry immediately retorted, "Well, I guess if he sends two pretty girls in bikinis after me I'm done for. Hope he never discovers my weakness."

"Oh?" said Ginny perking back up. "Aren't you the smooth talker, Potter." And she leaned in and kissed him. Rather than a full out tongue tangling kiss like she had given him the other day, this was more a simple nibbling of the lips. Quite a bit like the last kiss he had with a girl in a bikini.

That thought brought Harry up short. Feeling him pull away, Ginny thought sadly that she had gone too far, and started to apologize. Realizing the wrong impression he had given her, Harry quickly put his finger to her lips to silence her.

"Don't apologize," he hastily reassured her. "You don't ever need to be sorry for kissing me. I was just … thinking of something else for a second." He really didn't want to tell her what had distracted him. Fortunately, she assumed that it had been something to do with her previous comment and leaned in again and said, "Then let's see if we can get you to stop thinking about that," and gave him a kiss that managed to blank his mind quite thoroughly.

Eventually they noticed that Hermione had gotten out of the pool, and Harry decided that they should join her before things got too out of hand.

As they stretched out on the lounge chairs, Harry noticed that Hermione was lying on her stomach and had already untied the strings to her top. While Ginny saw that and shyly followed suit Harry commented to her that lying in the sun was one of Hermione's favorite activities. Hermione responded that she actually preferred the beach to a pool and asked Ginny if she had ever been to a beach.

"No, but we would sometimes go swimming at a lake at one of my relative's houses. I've never worn anything like this though," she said motioning to her suit. She had never shown this much skin to anyone, but Harry and Hermione were acting like it was perfectly normal.

"Please don't tell me witches still wear swimsuits with skirts on them," Hermione said incredulously.

"No, no, some of my older cousins wore two piece suits, not as small as this mind you, but I was only ever allowed to wear a one piece that covered up pretty much everything," Ginny replied. "My mum still thinks I'm a little kid."

"Well, you should definitely wear a suit like this more often," Harry declared. "Your body was made for a bikini." He had blurted this out before he realized how bold he was being and immediately got a sheepish expression on his face while Ginny looked shocked and Hermione giggled. "Maybe you could take her shopping for one sometime," he said to Hermione, trying to recover gracefully."

Hermione, however, was not going to let him off the hook. "Or maybe," she said with an evil grin on her face, "she should wear another kind of one piece suit." While Ginny looked puzzled at this Harry groaned and turned bright red. He realized that he was becoming very uncomfortable with this line of thought and needed to roll over on his stomach before things got really embarrassing.

Hermione went in for the kill. She leaned over and whispered something to Ginny and Ginny's eyes grew wide as she turned to look at Harry. Then she blushed and buried her head in the towel. Harry could only lie there and mutter about what he had done to deserve having a best friend with such a wicked sense of humor.

Finally, after much prodding from Hermione, Ginny asked Harry if he would go back into the pool with her. Initially he just glared at Hermione, but when Ginny gave him the puppy dog eyes he relented. _OK, I'm going to put on a show. Might as well just make the best of it._

Unfortunately, Ginny was not used to her current attire and started to get up without realizing her top was still untied. Hermione quickly reached out an arm and forced her back down, but not before Harry got a full view. With a screech Ginny pulled her arms in tightly to her sides and turned her head away from him, blushing furiously. While Harry enjoyed Ginny's unintentional revelation very much, it made his problem even worse. But, since she was now even more embarrassed than he was, he had time to recover before she was ready to try to get up again.

After regaining her composure, and another whispered conversation with Hermione, Ginny smiled sweetly at him and asked Harry to tie her strings back up. Hermione made the same request and both girls watched with what seemed to him to be predatory looks as he got up and approached them.

Looking down on Ginny's bare back Harry had an idea that he thought they would both enjoy. Straddling her, he knelt down so that he was sitting on her upper legs, leaned forward and began to give her a back massage. As he ran his hands over her bare back and caressed her smooth warm skin, the contented moans coming from beneath him indicated that he had made a good choice. Beginning at the top he thoroughly kneaded her neck, shoulders and back, working his way down to the small of her back. Resisting the temptation to go any lower, he nevertheless took a good look at her cute arse in the small bikini bottom before working his way back up her back with long, sweeping strokes.

Ginny was in absolute heaven at the feel of Harry's strong hands on her back and contented herself thinking of all sorts of ways in which she could repay him. She closed her eyes and gave little moans and gasps as his hands found particularly sensitive spots.

Harry was happy that he was making her feel so good, but noticed that Hermione was watching them with a wistful expression on her face. Without giving it too much thought he gave Ginny a final slap on the bum and announced "You're next," and moved over to the startled older girl. This time it was Hermione's turn for the blissful expression while Ginny tried to hide a jealous look. He repeated everything he had done to Ginny's back on Hermione, noting that except for the hair, both girls looked and felt pretty much the same from this angle, although Hermione's bikini bottom covered a little less than Ginny's. He tried to refrain from admiring it in the same way he had admired Ginny's. Finally he finished, and barely remembering what he had been instructed to do in the first place, tied up their bikini strings and the three of them went back in for a swim.

Ginny watched as Harry proudly showed her how Hermione had taught him to swim, and Hermione demonstrated some strokes that Harry hadn't mastered, including the flip turn that she had teased him with what seemed like ages ago. Ginny tried to do a few strokes under Hermione's patient instruction, and managed to do a passable breast stroke, which Harry had never managed to get the hang of. Several times Ginny found herself admiring how easily Harry and Hermione interacted with each other in this setting which was so alien to her, but was pleased that they were willing to include her and she felt much more comfortable with everything by the end of the day. She was determined to fit in to their world better than Ron had.

As the day came to a close the older two could sense that Ginny had something that she wanted to bring up. The younger witch nervously asked them if they could all go inside and sit down, so the three made their way to the Grangers' comfortable family room where Ginny settled on the sofa between the other two. As the redhead stared down into her lap where her hands were twisting together Harry and Hermione exchanged puzzled looks at each other over her head and shrugged.

"Harry, I … oh this is so hard," Ginny began. Harry put his arm around her shoulder and Hermione took her hand and smiled at her encouragingly. She turned to Harry and began again. "Harry, you were right. I won't ask to come along on any more of your missions." Harry was startled. He had been expecting the opposite. He nodded and Ginny continued. "I'm not brave like you and Hermione. No, let me finish," she said as Hermione started to object. "When I heard what happened to you – when Crabbe and Goyle tried to ra…" she faltered, unable to bring herself to say it, "I just fell apart. I know if it had been me there would have been no way I could have fought back. I'd be dead now," she shuddered, "and so would Harry."

Harry noticed that Hermione had shuddered herself when Ginny brought up the horrifying incident, and would have liked to comfort her but knew he could do nothing about it right now. Instead he gave Ginny a hug and tried to boost her confidence. "You don't know that Gin. You …"

Ginny interrupted again. "No, I know how I've reacted in the past. At the Department of Mysteries you and Hermione fought back … and Neville. I just ran and tried to hide and managed to break my ankle. All I did was hold you back. And when the Death Eaters attacked Hogwarts Neville fought so hard, even charging that barrier, and all I could do was dodge spells and try to keep from getting hit. And the way you two fought together at your birthday. You and Hermione – and Ron – you're training and you've all done this stuff before. You're right, if I were along you'd have to watch out for me and that might get you killed."

Hermione was amazed. She'd never thought of herself as that brave. Indeed, she had occasionally wondered why the Sorting Hat had put her into Gryffindor. She had just done what she had to. It dawned on her that that would be exactly how Harry would describe his own heroics. She squeezed Ginny's hand that she was still holding. "I still think you're brave Ginny. Maybe in a different way. It took a lot of mental fortitude to do what you did your first year, and to even be in those situations you described. Sometimes running away or getting out of the way is the best thing to do."

Ginny looked back at her older friend gratefully. "I still want to train and become the best fighter I can be. I still want to help you guys any way I can. And if that just means supporting you back at Hogwarts, working with the DA, and comforting Harry when I get the chance, that's what I'll do."

Ginny heaved a sigh of relief. Now that she had got the tough part out of the way she was ready to continue. "Harry, I also want to let you know I'm willing to go along with breaking up with you officially if that's what you think is best. But I still want to be with you sometimes, even if we have to keep it secret. I'll do whatever I can to keep you in my life."

Harry's heart broke at hearing what she was willing to do for him, and couldn't bring himself to deny her this small consolation. And besides, he really did enjoy being with her, and wanted to continue to get to know her better. Hermione, though, spotted a problem with this plan, which had actually occurred to her when Harry had brought it up a week and a half previously.

"Harry, if you thought you had problems with girls being after you last year, this year is going to be crazy. That one day when I told you Ginny was going to be fighting them off, I wasn't kidding. Don't you agree?" she asked, turning to Ginny for confirmation.

"Well, I have to agree he is pretty hot," admitted Ginny, giggling at Harry's embarrassment. "And I have to admit that it's going to be hard to keep from hexing every girl who makes a move on him." Her face darkened at the thought of what Romilda Vane would be doing to try to ensnare the Boy Who Lived this year.

"Not to mention how Harry's going to have to avoid killing every guy who looks twice at you," pointed out Hermione. "Didn't you notice the death glares he was giving Dean last year?"

Harry continued to turn several interesting shades of red and could merely mutter, "C'mon, it wasn't that bad."

Ginny, however, perked up at this revelation. "Really?" she said smiling adoringly at Harry. _'It actually worked?'_ she continued to herself.

Hermione wasn't finished. "I fear for the health of the Hogwarts male population. You are a magnet for guys, you know." This time it was Ginny's turn to be embarrassed, although unlike Harry, she was well aware of her appeal for the opposite sex.

Ginny considered an idea that had occurred to her a while ago, and decided to see what her friends thought of it. "How about pretending?"

"Pretending what?" Harry was confused, but Hermione thought she knew where Ginny was going with this idea. She wasn't sure whether she liked it or not.

"Pretending to be with someone else. We used to do this when I was younger. You have a fake boyfriend to keep other boys from annoying you. In Harry's case, of course, it would be a fake girlfriend."

"But that would just mean someone else was in danger," Harry objected. "I wouldn't want some other girl to be in danger just so I could protect you."

"Well, there is one obvious choice who that wouldn't be a problem for," Ginny answered smugly. At Harry's blank look she just shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"Hermione, you idiot. She can't be in any more danger than she already is. And it would be the most natural thing in the world." Since Ginny was looking at Harry, she didn't notice that now Hermione was blushing furiously. "C'mon, it's not like half the school isn't already expecting it."

Harry felt a surge of panic. "You mean, other people have found out we're living together this summer?"

"No, you prat. Half the school has been expecting you two to get together for years." At the surprised look on his face she added, "the other half was expecting her and Ron to get together. There's actually a betting pool on it among the Gryffindors."

Harry and Hermione both choked at this revelation. Hermione began to sputter indignantly but Ginny waved her off. "What do you expect, Hermione? You've spent all of your time with these two for six years. Of course everyone assumes you'll end up with one of them. The two sides have even given themselves nicknames."

Hermione had put her hands over her ears and was shaking her head. "I don't want to hear this. I really do not want to hear this." Harry, however, was fascinated by the whole thing.

Ginny was enjoying teasing the older witch. "There are even a few who think you'll end up with both of them. You know, sort of a three way?"

Hermione was reduced to opening and closing her mouth silently. Harry suddenly wasn't as amused. Ginny noticed this and decided to backtrack. "Not me though."

Harry found that his curiosity was aroused. "I imagine you voted for Ron?"

Ginny surprised him however. "Well, obviously I was hoping for that, because it would have given _me_ a better chance at you. But I actually think you two would be much better together than her and Ron." Seeing his dumbfounded expression she explained. "What, with the way they fight all the time? They'd kill each other if they ever got into a serious relationship. Just look what happened last year. They never even made it into a relationship and they still almost killed each other." She took Harry's arm and snuggled up to him and looked up into his eyes and got serious. "If I couldn't have you I'd rather you be with her. And look at how well you've gotten along together this summer."

"Hey, I'm still in the room," Hermione objected, finally finding her voice. "Did anyone ever consider that I might not end up with either of them?" she added testily.

Ginny considered this thoughtfully. "No, I don't think anyone bet on that."

Hermione was silent as this sunk in. _That's exactly what it looks like is going to happen, though. _ She found herself feeling sad at this thought.

"Hermione?" She looked up from her brooding to see Harry looking at her nervously. "What do you think about the idea, though? Do you want to, you know …?"

"Do I want to pretend to be your girlfriend, you mean?"

"Um, yeah."

"Well, I'm already pretending to be your wife, right? It's rather a comedown when you think of it that way." Seeing the worried look on his face she reassured him. "It's a good idea actually. And it's not like things would change much. We already would have been together nearly all the time anyway. Although I really don't have much experience with this. After all, I've never had a boyfriend at Hogwarts." _I'm rambling again, _Hermione thought._ I always do that when I get nervous. Why is this making me so nervous? Is it because I'm worried that this might affect the relationship that we have that's going so well right now? Can I really pull this off?_

Hermione's internal monologue was interrupted by a couple of coughs from Ginny and a throat clearing by Harry. Both of which sounded distinctly like the word 'Krum'.

Hermione turned red and began to object. "He wasn't really a boyfriend. We only had one date. OK, two dates," she added, seeing the smirk on Ginny's face. "Maybe three." Ginny's smirk kept growing. "You just keep your mouth shut Ginny Weasley. I know some things about your boyfriends too."

Harry had never seen anyone change expressions as fast as Ginny did just then. Her smirk was instantly replaced by a look of panic, and Hermione was suddenly silent. He just shrugged it off. It didn't surprise him that Ginny had told Hermione some things about her other two boyfriends that she would rather Harry not know. He would never expect Hermione to break the confidence of a friend, and knew she was only kidding Ginny. But that reminded him about their other problem.

"What about you, Ginny?" The two girls abruptly turned to him, startled. "What about a boyfriend for you," he clarified. The tension between the two girls vanished as they considered this question.

"Oh, I don't know." Ginny was a little flustered to be talking about going out with another guy with Harry. "There _are_ a few who are interested."

"But that's the point," Hermione broke in, "it can't be just any boy who's interested in dating you. You'll have to let them know that it's just pretend, and then they'll want to know why. So it has to be someone we can trust."

"Neville." Both girls turned to look at Harry who had been looking down as though in deep thought. He looked up at them and repeated. "Neville. I would trust him with my life. And I would trust him with Ginny, which is just as important." Ginny beamed at him at that remark, and then thought about his suggestion.

"I hadn't thought of him, but he's a pretty good idea. He's really nice and I like him a lot. And I think he likes me," she added, turning a little pink. Neville definitely had seemed to enjoy coming to the Burrow this summer and she was pretty sure it wasn't because of Ron. "It will certainly surprise a lot of people, because I don't think he'd ever get up the nerve to ask me out. Come to think of it, he _was_ my first ever date at Hogwarts. The Yule Ball, remember?"

The three decided that they would talk to Neville the next day at Ginny's party and, relieved to have solved a problem that they had all been worried about, ended the day in a very good mood. Harry decided he wanted to swim some laps so Hermione told him she would take Ginny home and meet him back at the house. In a short while she and Ginny were changed and came out to say goodbye (and give Ginny one more chance to admire Harry's bum while he was swimming his laps) and the two of them disapparated from the Granger home.

-----

"Harry?"

Harry was just about to turn in when Hermione appeared in his doorway in her robe. She looked a little shaken up and he scrambled to his feet and hurried over to her to see what was the matter.

"Would you stay in my room for a while tonight?" Harry suddenly remembered Pomfrey's instructions about Hermione's emotional state.

"Nightmare about the attack?" Harry asked, putting his hands carefully on her shoulders. She dropped her head and nodded.

"Last night was awful here without you. They actually got some of my clothes off before I woke up. It wasn't as bad the first night when I was with you in the infirmary." She shuddered at the thought of it and he pulled her into a hug. He had tried to avoid thinking about that exact scenario because he knew it would put him into a rage. But he needed to stay calm for her. He knew it must be even worse for her to think about. "Madame Pomfrey says the first week will be the worst, and that I just have to let my mind deal with it and not shut it away. I'm trying but it scares me. If you're there it helps."

"Hermione, you know I'll always be here for you. Just let me know what you want me to do."

"I was wondering if you could sit in my room. Just knowing you're there might help. And if I have a nightmare you might be able to stop it before it goes too far."

Harry settled into a chair in her room, which she insisted on transfiguring into a more comfortable stuffed recliner, and pulled out the book he had been reading. It was _Return of the King _and he knew it was exciting enough to keep him awake all night if he let it. Hermione removed her robe and climbed under the covers and gave him a grateful smile before rolling over and going to sleep.

Two hours later, Harry had just decided to put the book down and lean back in the recliner and get some sleep, when he heard moaning coming from Hermione. As he got up and went over to her bed she started thrashing around. Kneeling by the bed, he took her hand and gently stroked it, hoping to calm her down. It worked, and she settled back down again. Just as he made it back to his chair, she started thrashing again. He returned and took her hand again, and once more she calmed down. Briefly, Harry wondered if he could pull the chair close enough that he could lay back in it and hold her hand at the same time. But that was silly. There was a much easier way. He just hoped she would understand.

When they had moved into the house, Harry had insisted that Hermione take the master bedroom, and she had the double bed, so there would be plenty of room for him to get into the bed with her. Carefully crawling in so as not to wake her, he sat so he could lean against the wall crossways to her and put her pillow on his lap, so she could sleep on his lap and he could keep holding her hand. He wedged another pillow against the wall behind him and was all set.

As he leaned back, affectionately running his other hand through her hair, Harry thought about what he had just committed to that day. It would be strange pretending to be Hermione's boyfriend. It was true that they had been pretending to be married for the last two months, but this would be different in that they would be trying to fool their friends, not strangers. They already held hands a lot and hugged once in a while, but would they be kissing too? Somehow that thought didn't bother him as much as it would have two months ago.

-----

Hermione opened her eyes and shuddered. She had barely any clothing on and was restrained to the ground somehow. She tried to cover herself with her hands but couldn't. To her horror she saw Vincent Crabbe walking toward her, leering at her nakedness. She struggled against the restraints and tried to scream but it sounded like a terrified moan. Crabbe laughed viciously as his hand reached for her. Hermione felt someone beside her and he took her hand. She couldn't see anyone but somehow she knew that it was Harry and she felt herself calming. Crabbe began to fade away scowling at her.

There was more raucous laughter as Harry's presence faded. Draco and Goyle were suddenly at her feet. She started struggling again but was unable to free herself. "Aw look at the mudblood, Greg. All yours for the taking. Want to _try her_? Take her _clothes off_." Draco sneered. She tried to scream and cover up but was again unable to move or make any sound. Just before Goyle touched her she felt Harry's presence again. Goyle and Malfoy recoiled as she felt Harry's hand grasp hers.

Malfoy tried to shout nasty things at her but no sound came out as he gradually faded away. Goyle fell with a silent scream as his leg opened with a nasty wound and then he faded away also. Hermione sensed her restraints melt away and felt Harry's arms holding her. She relaxed some more and leaned back onto him. He was running his hand through her hair and it felt so good. She closed her eyes again. Harry would take care of her.

-----

Harry awoke somewhat stiff, feeling a weight on his chest. Remembering what had happened last night, he opened his eyes to see that he had slid down the wall and was now lying on the bed, and Hermione's head had slipped up from his lap and was now on his chest. His arm was draped across her chest and was still holding her hand. Not wanting her to know that he had crawled into bed with her, he very slowly slid out from under her and then the rest of the way off the bed. Gathering his pillow and book, he tiptoed back into his room.

Hermione opened her eyes as he left. She had awakened a little earlier, but wasn't sure what to do so she feigned being asleep. She thought that Harry would be embarrassed to be caught in her bed, and so let him leave thinking that she didn't know. She couldn't believe that he had lain in that uncomfortable position all night just to comfort her. She sighed. Not only was he incredibly loyal and brave, but he had this sweet, tender, caring side too. It certainly wouldn't be difficult to pretend to be his girlfriend, she thought.

---------------

A/N The attack in the last chapter had been planned ever since I started writing this story, but the part about Hermione's nightmares was added later. It seemed to me that a traumatic experience like that must have some repercussions. I am in no way trying to minimize the seriousness of sexual assault, but rather acknowledge it's emotional impact on women.

There are innumerable fanfics where Hermione (or Ginny) climbs into bed with Harry to try to ease his nightmares, so this is a bit of a different twist in that he is trying to ease her nightmares.


	22. Clearing the Air

---------------

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Thanks to Old Crow and Dee for their helpful suggestions on this chapter. Thanks especially to Dee for writing the initial draft of the scene with Molly and Hermione.

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**Chapter 22, Clearing the Air  
**

August 11

"Happy birthday Ginny."

They were sitting in the large Weasley kitchen and Harry passed Ginny a wrapped box. Her eyes grew huge as she saw that it was a long skinny box and she knew what kind of things came in boxes like that. Ripping it open she discovered a Firebolt!

"Oh Harry, this is fantastic!" she said, throwing her arms around his neck and giving him a big hug. "Thank you so much!"

"Ginevra Weasley!" Molly's loud voice broke in. "You know you can't accept an expensive present like that from Harry. I don't care if he's your boyfriend or not."

"Aw Mum!" Ginny knew, though, that argument would be futile. Molly would never give in on this. Her shoulders slumped.

Harry scratched his head. "Well, I can't take it back. Ron and I already tried it out." Ginny looked at Ron who grinned and nodded his head. "I guess I'll just have to keep it." He appeared to think some more. "I already have one, though, so you can use it at Hogwarts if you want to. In fact, it's pretty crowded in my room and I don't want to leave it in the storage area with the school brooms, so do you think you can keep it in your room for me?"

Ginny's eyes lit up and a big smile came over her face. Ron smirked at Harry and Fred and George started cracking up. Molly glared at them so they cast a quick silencing charm over themselves. Harry continued. "Just take good care of it for me, OK?" Ginny nodded enthusiastically.

But Harry wasn't finished yet. "Well, since I can't give you a broom I still need to get you a birthday present. How about this?" He handed her a smaller box. Ginny opened it, a little less eagerly perhaps, and pulled out a broomstick servicing kit. Harry looked innocently at Mrs. Weasley. "I'm sure this must be OK for a present because Hermione gave me one for _my _birthday one year."

Fred and George got matching evil looks on their faces, realizing that this was an opportunity to tweak the studious witch. "Hermione?" they said turning eagerly toward her.

"Boys," Hermione returned calmly, interrupting them. "Did I ever tell you about this interesting hex Fleur showed me last week?"

Fred and George suddenly remembered a very important engagement elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Ron had figured out what the twins were finding so amusing, but wanted to change the subject. "So, Ginny, what did you get from Hermione?"

Ginny and Hermione shared a glance and Ginny giggled a little. "Nothing you'd be interested in, Ron. Hermione took me out shopping yesterday and we both had a nice time and she got me some nice things. Now if you'll excuse me." She and Hermione swept out the room while Ron looked on dumbfounded. Harry kept quiet. He had an idea of what she might have meant and it wasn't something he wanted to discuss with Ron. He decided to go find Neville. Molly just sighed and shook her head. She realized perfectly well what Harry had just done, effectively giving Ginny a Firebolt. She decided to just let it go. She always had a weak spot where Harry was concerned. Thinking more about the conversation, she wondered what Ginny and Hermione had been on about, and glanced up the stairs toward where they had disappeared.

-----

The girls hurried up the stairs still giggling. Hermione saw Ron shaking his head at them as they cleared the top of the stairs. She hoped he wouldn't get curious about Ginny's present.

They entered Ginny's room and plopped down on the bed at about the same time. Ginny sighed and grabbed a pillow to hug.

"Hermione? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Hermione replied sitting up so that she could pay proper attention.

"What happened between you and Ron?"

"What do you mean?" Hermione was instantly on the defensive.

"Well, it was obvious to everyone but him that you were interested in him last year. And I think even he figured it out after the way you reacted when he started dating Lavender."

"I know. That was so embarrassing. But I think I've gotten over him. And I think you're right about us killing each other if we got in a serious relationship. Besides, he's made it very clear that he doesn't feel that way about me," Hermione said with a short shrug.

"Are you sure? Because he sure looked interested when you came for the wedding," Ginny pointed out.

"Right, when I had on a tight top and had long blonde hair. If he only notices me when I look like that what does that say?" Hermione asked.

"I guess you're right. But sometimes he would get so jealous of Krum and …"

"And what?"

"I wonder how he's going to react when he finds out you're dating Harry."

Before Hermione could answer there was a knock at the door and Molly Weasley entered. "Ginny?"

"Hi Mum." The two girls looked up to see what Mrs. Weasley wanted.

"So, what's this special present that Hermione got you that Ron shouldn't know about."

"Oh Mum, you've got to see them. They're so pretty," Ginny replied excitedly, the previous topic forgotten. She reached under her bed and pulled out the box from Harvey Nichols and opened it.

Molly, however, was not as thrilled with the present as Ginny was. She turned to Hermione and glared at her.

"What were you thinking, buying Ginny these… _things_," Molly asked in a voice that could have frozen fire.

"Things?" Hermione asked wondering if they were talking about the same present.

"What sixteen year old girl needs matching knickers and bras?" Molly demanded.

"What's wrong with them?" Hermione asked calmly.

"What's wrong with them? Why, they're inappropriate," Molly sputtered. "My daughter is not some kind of tart!" More annoyed now, Hermione began to respond but Molly was not finished.

"You know, Hermione I've spent six years trying to figure you out. I just don't understand how you can think that it is appropriate for a sixteen-year-old girl to wear suggestive clothing. It makes me wonder what your parents taught you," Molly said.

Now Hermione was beyond annoyed and approaching truly angry. She was not about to put up with insults to her parents. "Just what is that supposed to mean," she demanded.

Molly realized she had overstepped and backed off a little. "I was talking about your muggle clothing. The way they're so revealing."

"My muggle clothes are not that revealing. If you're talking about my tank tops, lots of muggle women wear those. My mother wears them, for heaven's sake. When I am here I always change into something more conservative because I know that the wizarding world is different than the muggle world in a lot of ways," Hermione told her, trying to calm herself down.

"While you are here, yes, but when you are at the house that you share with Harry? How do you dress then? In your muggle clothes? Half dressed and flaunting your body?" Molly demanded. Despite what Hermione had just said, she was still not convinced that decent women wore clothing like that.

"Mum!" Ginny finally broke into the conversation. Somehow this didn't seem to be about her birthday present any more. What was her mother trying to say?

Hermione ignored her friend. It had just become clear to her what the conversation was really about. "Of course I dress like a muggle at home. That's what we're pretending to be," Hermione snapped. "But what's really bothering you? Is it my clothing, or that I don't think Ginny should dress like an eleven year old, or the fact that I am living with Harry?"

"I object to all of it and I won't have you corrupting Ginny! Just what are your intentions towards Harry?"

"Intentions?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"Yes, intentions. You are always hugging him. Merlin knows what goes on at the _house you share_. I don't want to see you come between him and Ginny," Molly said. She didn't like Hermione's attitude. She was used to her children cringing and backing down when she got into a rant like this, and here Hermione was standing up to her and calmly answering her.

Ginny couldn't believe what she was hearing. Hermione had always been supportive of her being with Harry, hadn't she? Before she could object again Hermione spoke up once more.

"I hug Harry because he needs all the reassurance and love he can get. I also hug him because he's my best friend," Hermione answered. "And I really don't see that our living arrangements are any of your concern." She was beginning to get angry again. She knew Mrs. Weasley liked to mother Harry, but this was going too far.

"Of course it's my concern. Do you know how it looks that you and Harry are living together alone?" Mrs. Weasley asked. "I can't fathom how your parents allowed you to move in with Harry." Molly told her.

"_My_ parents? For your information they got to know Harry quite well when he was staying with us. They know they can trust us. My parents understand why we are doing this and support us all the way. Mum even helped us pick out the house." Hermione explained. "Nothing indecent is going on, I can assure you. Ron would be welcome to come live with us too if he had it in him to pretend to be a muggle. When we picked out the house we got one that would have separate rooms for me, Harry, and Ron, and we have another guest room where Tonks or Remus stay when they visit." Hermione was about to say that it had also been intended for if Ginny were to visit, but realized that would be a big mistake right now. It probably also wouldn't be wise to mention that Remus and Tonks shared the guest room on occasion. "It's no different than it will be at Hogwarts this year where Harry and I will share the Head's suite.

Molly didn't really like that idea either, but there was nothing she could do about it. "I can see that you don't understand. It's probably your muggle upbringing…"

Hermione cut her off in a flash. Her eyes were bright with anger when she said, "Yes that must be it. My parents are muggles therefore they must not have taught me right."

"That's not what I meant," Molly objected, quickly backpedaling. "I wasn't trying to say anything against your parents. I've only met them once but I'm sure they are fine people. It's just that the world you were raised in is different than the wizarding world. There are things that are just not done and living with a man without being married to him is one of them."

"What about Bill and Fleur?" Ginny had heard enough. She was tired of being ignored in this argument and was furious at her mother for making such a big deal about this, especially since her own children were doing the same thing. Surely her mother must also know that Angelina sometimes stayed the night with Fred. "They lived together before they got married."

"Ginny!" both Hermione and Molly said together. Molly looked at Hermione, surprised that she would be objecting to Ginny taking her side.

"Ginny, that is totally different," Hermione said in exasperation. "There is nothing romantic about Harry's and my living arrangements. We are two people living in two separate rooms in the same house." She felt a guilty twinge, recalling that Harry had actually slept in her room the night before, but pushed it aside. "We treat each other like a brother and sister. It's no different than Ginny's and Ron's rooms here." She had turned back to Mrs. Weasley as she said this, hoping that she would finally get the idea. "Harry has absolutely no interest in me and is nothing but a perfect gentleman at home," Hermione said firmly.

Molly considered her for a moment and then nodded. She still wasn't happy about it but she could see that Hermione was not going to budge. And Harry was a nice boy after all. She desperately wanted Ginny and Harry to be together and didn't want to see Hermione getting in their way. She decided to return to the original topic.

"Well, that's enough about that. Now about these knickers…" Molly said.

"What about them?" Ginny asked defiantly. She may not be allowed to keep the Firebolt but there was no reason that she should have to give back the nice underclothing that Hermione had helped her pick out.

"What do you need something like that for?" Molly asked.

"There's nothing wrong with wearing something pretty," Hermione tried to explain. "So they are different colors, fit better, have a bit of lace and look nice. It's not like she's going to show anyone," she finished, rolling her eyes.

"Isn't that what they are for? To show Harry?" Molly asked suspiciously. Hermione sat down on the bed in shock, her mouth hanging open.

"Mother!" Ginny said, horrified.

"Well why buy them then?" Molly demanded. Ginny shook her head completely embarrassed but Hermione managed to get herself back under control and tried to explain.

"Mrs. Weasley, my mum took me shopping the summer before I turned sixteen. She told me that there is no reason not to have nice undergarments just because I'm the only one who will see them. She also said that sometimes you have to have some help feeling like a woman. She has no idea how hard it is to remember that you're a girl under those baggy school robes but she's right."

"Mum, almost everything I own is old and worn. I just wanted something nice for myself. Is that wrong?" Ginny asked pleadingly.

Molly sighed. As the youngest child and only girl in a large family, Ginny had rarely had nice things, and had also rarely been able to be feminine. "Okay, I understand, I think," she admitted. "I just wanted to be sure that you weren't thinking about doing something improper with Harry."

"Harry and I have never even thought about doing something like _that_," Ginny said, her eyes wide. Hermione noticed that Ginny had conveniently not mentioned Dean Thomas or Michael Corner in that statement.

"And what is _that_ exactly?" Molly asked innocently, teasing her a little. Ginny blushed again.

"It really doesn't matter now does it," Ginny said with a sudden sigh.

"Of course it does!" Molly said.

"Harry doesn't want to put me in danger so we are going to pretend to date other people while at school," Ginny said with another sigh.

"You're what?"

"Harry's going to pretend to be dating Hermione while I pretend to date Neville," Ginny explained. "Don't start again, Mum, we worked it all out yesterday," she added, to try to forestall another wave of suspicion from Molly directed at Hermione.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Hermione asked. If she wasn't, Hermione wasn't going to do it. Hermione was uncomfortable enough as it was.

"I'm fine with it, I think. I just … I know Harry likes me. It's not fair that we can't be together in public," Ginny said.

"Well look at it this way Ginny, a lot of the girls at school are going to have yet one more reason to hate the bossy know-it-all, who somehow managed to snag the Boy Who Lived" Hermione pointed out.

Ginny thought about what it was like to be Hermione. Yes, she was close to Harry, which in Ginny's book was almost everything, but she didn't have many close female friends. Really there was just Ginny.

Molly looked thoughtfully at the muggleborn witch. This was all news to her. She realized that she really didn't understand this girl at all. Turning back to Ginny, she asked, "Are you sure you have to do this?"

"Yes, Mum, I'm sure." There were tears in Ginny's eyes. "Harry broke up with me right before we left Hogwarts last spring in order to keep me safe. I've been trying all summer to change his mind, but I've accepted that he's right. It's the only way for me to be with him." She was crying now and Molly grabbed her in a crushing hug. Everything was starting to make sense now. Why Harry had seemed to mostly keep his distance from Ginny this summer, but sometimes seemed to care so much for her. Then, to her astonishment, Hermione came over and hugged Ginny also.

"It'll be OK, Ginny. Don't worry, it'll all work out," Hermione repeated over and over, trying to comfort Ginny. Molly couldn't believe it. This was the girl she had accused of trying to steal Harry?

Finally Ginny composed herself and smiled tearily at Hermione and nodded. Molly pulled out a handkerchief and dried her tears. Hermione took her hand and said, "Come on, lets go find the boys."

-----

"Hi, Neville, do you have a minute?" Neville Longbottom looked up as Harry approached. He had been a little surprised when Ginny had flooed him last night and invited him over for her birthday today, but he was quick to accept. He was a little nervous about talking to Harry, even though he hadn't really done anything to feel guilty about. He was puzzled to see that Harry looked apprehensive about talking to _him_.

Harry had been delayed by the twins as he came out of the house, but had finally found Neville. "Neville, I want to ask you a favor, but I don't want you to feel pressured into doing it. I mean, you should only do it if you really want to." Now Neville was really uneasy.

"Harry, you know I'd do anything you want. What is it?"

Harry smiled a little. Neville was one of the most loyal friends he had. "I think you should wait until you hear what it is." He hesitated, trying to decide where to start. "You know that Ginny and I were going together at the end of last year, but broke up?" Neville nodded. "Well, that was only for show. We still have feelings for each other."

"I kinda suspected as much after that kiss she laid on you on your birthday." Neville had hoped differently, but had been pretty certain that that was what had happened. "Why the deception?"

"Plain and simple, anyone who's with me is a target. I don't want her in any more danger than she already is." Neville nodded again. Being Harry Potter certainly had its disadvantages. If he had a girl like Ginny he sure wouldn't want to give her up. He shuddered at the thought of how close _he_ had been to being the one attacked by Voldemort as a baby.

"OK, but what does that have to do with me." Neville could see one possible reason Harry was telling him this but he didn't think he could be that lucky.

"When we go back to Hogwarts we're afraid if she isn't with me guys will be all over her." Harry hesitated, then decided to come right out and say it. "We're wondering if you might be willing to pretend to be her boyfriend?"

Neville couldn't help the huge grin that spread across his face. "Are you serious? Me, go out with the prettiest witch in Hogwarts? And I'm doing it as a favor to you? No problem, mate!" For a second Harry thought Neville was going to hug him, but he ended up slapping him on the back.

"Uh, Neville?" Harry wondered if he hadn't made himself clear. "You understand it's just for show. Ginny and I are still going to try to see each other in secret once in awhile."

Neville grew more serious. "Harry, I've had a crush on Ginny since I took her to the Yule Ball fourth year. She's never even looked at me since. Just having her pay attention to me and even act like she's my girlfriend is more than I could ever have hoped for." Then he brightened. "And when she finally does 'break up' with me, other girls won't look at me so much like a loser once I've dated the most popular girl in school."

Harry frowned. "You're not a loser Neville, and don't ever forget it. You're one of the best friends a bloke could have. It's not your fault the girls at Hogwarts can't see what's really important."

"That's right," came a voice from behind him. Harry turned to see Hermione approaching with a proud look on her face, with Ginny right behind her. "I couldn't have said it better myself. So, is Neville OK with this?" she asked.

Seeing the nods from the two males, Ginny shyly approached Neville. "Thanks for doing this Neville. I'll try to make it worth your while." Then she pulled him into a hug and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Neville's huge grin returned, along with a very red face. Harry tensed for an instant, then relaxed. He had been worried about what his reaction would be when Ginny kissed Neville, fearing that the monster in his stomach would return. To his relief, it hadn't.

When he had recovered, Neville thought of another question. "Harry, what about you? The girls aren't exactly going to leave you alone."

For some reason Harry was more nervous about this part of the deal, but Hermione rescued him by moving next to him and putting her arm around him. "That would be my job," she said with a hesitant smile. "What do you think?"

Neville looked back and forth between his two friends, then broke into a big smile. "Brilliant! Nobody would suspect a thing because half of the school expected you two to end up together anyway."

"So, Neville," Harry asked casually, "which way were you betting?"

-----

After Ginny's birthday celebration, they had a much more serious matter to attend to. Harry had asked Remus to call a meeting of the Order of the Phoenix. It was time to bring them aboard the project. Harry was glad to see Fred and George present, along with Bill and Charlie. Apparently the twins had been inducted sometime in the past year. He would be able to use their support. When everyone had gathered, Remus brought Harry into the Weasley's living room where they were meeting and announced that he had some information to share with them and new members to propose.

Harry took his cue. "Professor Dumbledore and I were working on a secret project in the war against Voldemort during the last school year." He shook his head as most of the members shuddered at the sound of the name, but continued. "I have been carrying on the project, with the help of some of my friends." As he said this Ron and Hermione stepped forward. "But before I tell you any more, I'd like to discuss the matter of membership in the Order." As he said this, Neville, Luna, and Ginny joined them.

Immediately several of the Order members shouted out their objections, but they were eventually quieted by others who wanted to hear what Harry had to say. A quick look around showed that Remus, Tonks, Moody, Shacklebolt, Jones, and all the Hogwarts professors were supporting him, as were most of the Weasleys. Surprisingly, Molly had kept quiet but she was clearly not happy.

Harry began again. "The six of us are going to join with you …" He didn't get to finish before the predictable cries of "they're too young … they're only children" began again.

"Silence!" Everyone stopped, stunned that he would raise his voice to a room full of adults. But this was Harry Potter, and that fact alone bought him some time.

"The main purpose of this group is to fight against Voldemort." He ignored the by now tiresome flinching. "Who else here has faced Voldemort as often as I have?" As expected, no one dared come forward. "Besides the Aurors present, how many of you have even fought Death Eaters as often as we have?"

There was some murmuring at this. Hestia Jones muttered softly to Shacklebolt, "Is he joining us or are we joining him?" He muttered back, "We're joining him. He's just being polite." She snickered and they turned their attention back to Harry.

"Luna Lovegood." Luna stepped forward. "How many times have you fought Death Eaters?"

"Twice, with you, and we won both times," she replied serenely.

"Neville Longbottom." Neville hesitantly moved up. "How many times have you fought Death Eaters?

"Three times."

"Hermione Granger?"

"Four times. All by your side. We beat them every time. And we killed quite a few." There were quite a few audible gasps at that statement.

"Ron Weasley?"

"Five times." Now there were many surprised exclamations. Not even all of the Aurors could make that claim.

Ginny was starting to get nervous. He had skipped her. Did that mean he was going to leave her out?

"Ginny Weasley." Uncertainly, Ginny moved out from the group. "Have you fought Voldemort personally?" There were many gasps from the Order members and Harry could hear Molly crying, "No! no!"

Ginny drew herself up to her full five feet two inches. "Yes, along with you, and we beat him."

Now the uproar began again. Two of the more vocal members that Harry didn't even know began shouting. "That's not possible. They're lying. They're just kids." Bill and Charlie had to restrain Fred and George from taking them on.

Suddenly there was a flash of fire. A hush fell again as everyone looked at Harry and were amazed to see that Dumbledore's phoenix had alighted on his shoulder.

"Hullo Fawkes," Harry said, stroking the phoenix affectionately. "I've missed you." Fawkes trilled a greeting and Harry smiled back briefly.

No one dared object now. The living symbol of the Order of the Phoenix had anointed Harry Potter as the new leader. Like it or not the die had been cast.

Harry immediately made a conciliatory move. "I have no intention of taking command of the Order. I have enough on my mind as it is. I would like to suggest Remus Lupin or Alistair Moody. You can decide when I've finished what I have to tell you." Quite a few of the objectors calmed down at this announcement, but there were still a few holdout grumblers.

"Now, I have some more members I would like to bring into the Order. Each of these has rendered invaluable assistance to us this summer with the critical project that Dumbledore left us with. And because of them we are closer to success than ever before."

Before he could say any more Remus, who had moved to his side, leaned over and whispered, "I hope you know what you're doing, kid." Harry simply nodded and motioned to the door, where Bill was standing. In walked Amos Diggory, Viktor Krum, Fleur Delacour Weasley, Ragnok the goblin, and Dobby and Winky. After a pause, the shouting began again.

"Are you crazy? We can't trust them. They aren't even human!"

"I trust them," Harry proclaimed, raising his voice above the shouting. "I have trusted them with my life." At that the noise subsided somewhat, so that he could lower his voice for his next statement. "I have found that I can trust them more than some of the members of the Order."

Several things happened before nearly everyone could react. The two most vocal opponents rushed forward, one shouting "He's mad!" and the other pulled out his wand. Amazingly, Harry stood there without flinching. Instantly, Dobby was in front of Harry, with his finger raised.

"You shall not harm Harry Potter!" With a loud crack the wizard with the wand was hurled backward, crashing into the wall. There was a collective gasp from many of the others. The penalty for a house elf attacking a human was death. Three Order members drew their wands and pointed them at Dobby, only to be met in a flash by the six wands of the students, followed in an instant by six more from Viktor, Fleur, and the Weasley boys. The Order members backed down.

"These are all friends of mine, and they _will_ be joining the Order. Anyone who doesn't like it can leave now. Anyone who stays will be expected to sign a binding oath secured by a secrecy charm developed by Hermione Granger and Bill Weasley." He paused, letting that sink in. "And anyone who leaves will be obliviated of the knowledge of this meeting."

"What! You can't be serious!" were some of the reactions. Hermione herself moved up to Harry and took his arm. "Harry, you don't mean it."

"Hermione," Harry said loudly enough for all to hear. "This is a matter of life and death. I will not have what happened to us – to you – occur again because someone gives us away." Most of the members were unaware of the treachery at the Crouch mansion, but even some of the ones that were raised their eyebrows at this statement.

Moody stepped forward for the first time. Remus had told him about Harry's suspicions before the meeting and he hadn't liked it one bit. But if there really was a problem, it was best to get it out in the open. "Maybe you'd better explain yourself Potter."

Harry stared him down. "Certainly, Moody. Did you involve Order members in the surveillance last week?"

"Yes I did. What are you trying to say?" growled Moody.

"Was Mundungus Fletcher one of them?"

"Yes, but …" Harry cut him off and turned to Remus.

"Was Fletcher invited to my birthday party?"

"Why yes, but he couldn't make it." Harry next turned to Molly.

"Was Fletcher invited to Bill and Fleur's wedding?"

"Yes, he was, but …"

"But he wasn't there either. This is the same Mundungus Fletcher who was supposed to be guarding me one night but conveniently disappeared just before I was attacked by Dementors. The same Mundungus Fletcher who I caught last year selling stuff he stole from the Black family estate. That's four surprise attacks, all on targets he knew about, all when he just happened to be absent. It seems to me that he's been selling more than stolen merchandise." Harry's voice was deadly calm, but his eyes were blazing with fury.

Moody was deeply shaken by this revelation. Remus had told him who Harry suspected, but didn't know the reasons, and he hadn't made the connections with the other attacks. Mundungus was the only one other than himself on the surveillance. He, 'Constant Vigilance' Moody had been fooled completely, and the traitor was exposed by a kid with a fraction of his experience.

Before anyone could say anything, phoenix song filled the air. The calming effect was immediate. As everyone settled down, quiet descended over the group while each one considered what they had heard and what they had been asked to do.

The other five students had no hesitation. They all had fought with Harry Potter and followed his lead before. They had seen him at his best and at his worst, and watched him do amazing things. He had proven his loyalty to every one of them. There was no question that they would sign the oath.

The Hogwarts faculty and Remus Lupin had discussed what would likely happen at this meeting. McGonagall and Flitwick had related their conversations with Harry and Hermione to the others, as well as their conviction that Harry was stepping up as the new leader of the light side, a conviction that had been proven this evening. Flitwick had also been consulted on the creation of the secrecy charm, so they had come here fully expecting to sign.

The aurors in the group - Tonks, Moody, Kingsley, and Hestia - were aware of what was happening in the fight against Voldemort. More Death Eaters had been killed or captured in the last two weeks than in the entire year previously, and they knew that directly or indirectly Harry Potter was responsible for every one of them. They had all either seen or heard of his and Hermione's performance during the attack on his birthday. They also knew that the other four students had acquitted themselves commendably in fights against Death Eaters as well. They were ready to join with him.

The four Weasley boys were also solidly in his corner. Between what Bill had observed happening at Gringotts and what the twins reported of their dealings with Harry they had the utmost confidence in this young man, best friend of one of their brothers and possible boyfriend of their sister.

Arthur and Molly Weasley were torn. Arthur also knew what was happening at the Ministry, and his sons had kept him somewhat informed of their actions. He had shared this information with Molly but knew that she was desperate to keep her children out of harm's way. Deep inside, however, they both knew that their children, particularly the youngest two, would follow Harry anywhere, and in fact already had. Twice in two years, first at the Ministry of Magic and then at Hogwarts, they had unhesitatingly plunged into battle with veteran Death Eaters for him. Trying to keep them out of this fight was like trying to hold back the tide.

Viktor and Fleur watched the tableau unfold before them. As foreign wizards, they were outsiders in this group. But Harry had never treated them that way, and the bond they had felt with him after the Triwizard tournament had only strengthened during the past month. After the events of the wedding they had committed to follow him and nothing that had happened since had changed that, only made them more certain.

Amos Diggory looked on from the rear of the room, unnoticed. There was no doubt in his mind where his allegiance lay. He had been forgotten or ignored by everyone, left to his grief over the death of his son. Harry and Viktor had given him a reason to live again and he fully intended to do whatever they needed.

Ragnok had been reluctant to come to this meeting, fearing exactly the reaction that had occurred. Most of these wizards and witches still didn't trust goblins. But something about Harry Potter compelled others to respond to him. Part of it was that he so unhesitatingly put himself out for others. In Ragnok's case it was that he saw something in Harry, and Hermione for that matter, that made him want to believe that they would be successful. When Harry had so thoroughly quashed the objections to the other magical beings, he realized that his gamble had paid off and that Harry was even more of a leader than he had hoped. It was quite possible that his membership in the Order of the Phoenix would mark a turning point in goblin-wizard relations.

Winky and Dobby had been very nervous about joining with a group of wizards. Even though the majority of those in the room had treated them very well, some even as equals, centuries of being treated as worthless beings were difficult to overcome. Winky had been terrified for her friend when he had attacked the wizard, fearing that she might never see him again. Seeing all those wizards jump to his defense had been a shock to both of them. After that show of support from Harry and his friends, they were more committed to him than ever before. They would die for him if necessary.

Ron was the first to break the silence and stepped up. "I'll sign it." He was quickly followed by Hermione and the other students, Remus and Tonks, and the Weasley boys. Soon nearly all of the Order members were lined up to sign. Only the two members who had most strenuously spoken against Harry refused, and they went out with Bill without objection to have their memories of that afternoon adjusted.

When all of the members had settled down again, Harry asked Molly to bring some refreshments. Ginny and Luna hurried out to help, followed closely by Neville. Harry held Hermione back and beckoned to her and Ron to join him with Remus and Viktor and they conferred to decide how to continue. As soon as everyone had something to eat or drink Harry resumed the meeting.

"As I see it, the Order's primary function is intelligence gathering. For most of you, this will be your only duty. Some of you have special abilities along those lines." Here he nodded at Ragnok and the house elves. "I will remind you that just as intelligence of the enemy's activities is essential to us, information about what we are doing is valuable to him. That means nothing that is discussed here, including even the identities of the other Order members, may be revealed to anyone not in this room. The five of us," Harry indicated himself, Ron, Hermione, Remus and Tonks, "nearly died last week because someone let something slip about what we were doing." Everyone readily agreed to this point. "Our major concern is with Voldemort's recruiting of dark allies."

"Some of us have had special training in fighting," he motioned this time to the Aurors, "but we will not be seeking out a fight, only reacting when necessary. I have asked Viktor to create an attack unit that will take the battle to the Death Eaters. He will be telling you later as much as you need to know about his activities." There were many murmurs of approval at this announcement. Many of them had heard about the 'Ministry's' elite unit, but had not realized that it had actually been Harry's initiative.

"Now, on to the most sensitive information. Professor Dumbledore discovered last year the method that Voldemort used to make himself seemingly immortal. This is why he didn't die sixteen years ago in his first attack on me. The Professor and I started to work on undoing what he had done and making him mortal again. Professor Dumbledore was killed just as we returned from one of our missions. Ron, Hermione, and I have continued with this during the summer, and we have made a lot of progress. When we are finished, he will be as mortal as anyone else and we will hunt him down and kill him."

The effect on the Order was electrifying. There had been a definite feeling of hopelessness with Dumbledore's death, and now here was Harry Potter outlining a plan to defeat the dark lord. And what was more, he acted like he believed it would work! After Harry finished, Remus took over and had the members break into subgroups that he had worked out in advance, giving them various assignments. Before everyone left it was clear that the consensus choice for directing the day to day activities of the Order was Remus Lupin, but that the real leader of the Order was Harry Potter.

Harry confirmed a few meetings for the following week, then moved outside for some time with his friends.

-----

"You what?"

Harry was confused at this reaction from Ron. He had been expecting him to maybe be a little surprised when he told him about the plan for he and Hermione to pretend to be boyfriend/girlfriend but this seemed a little excessive.

"You can't do that! What's going to happen to Ginny? You're supposed to be with her." Ron was definitely not taking this well.

"Ron, didn't you hear me? Ginny's going to be doing the same thing with Neville." An uneasy thought occurred to Harry. "Were you going to ask Hermione out yourself?"

"No!" The denial was immediate. Even though the thought had occurred to Ron recently, that wasn't what this was about. Harry just had to be with Ginny.

"Well, what is the problem then? Why is it that big of a deal to you whether I date Ginny or Hermione?"

Ron ignored that question. "But you're not really dating Hermione, right? It's just for a while until you get back with Ginny?"

Harry was getting irritated by Ron's insistence on his dating Ginny. In hindsight, he realized that Ron had been making hints about him and Ginny for several years. At the time he had been too preoccupied with his other concerns to notice.

"I don't know. I intend to, but I don't know for sure if it will work out. It's possible that I'll decide I want to be with Hermione. What would be so bad about that?" He hadn't actually given that possibility much consideration until the conversation the previous day, but now it didn't seem all that out of the question. His annoyance with Ron's attitude made him add the next statement. "Who knows, maybe I'll decide I want to stay with Hermione and Ginny will want to stay with Neville."

That statement sent Ron over the edge. "No! That's just wrong!"

Harry was beyond annoyance and getting alarmed. "Ron! What is up with you?" Why does it matter so much to you that I end up with Ginny?" A gut wrenching thought came to Harry. "Is this going to affect our friendship? Whether I get together with Ginny or not?"

Ron was silent.

"Ron, you're scaring me! Does our friendship depend on this?"

Finally, Ron found his voice. "No, no, mate don't worry about it. Sorry I brought it up." Harry relaxed a little and Ron came up and slapped him halfheartedly on the shoulder. "Look, I'm really knackered. I've got to be at work early tomorrow so I'm going to turn in. See you later." And with that he turned and went back into the house, leaving a completely dumfounded Harry Potter in his wake.

-----

Ron lay in his bed staring at the ceiling. He was usually not one for introspection, but tonight he did a little soul searching. Harry had hit too close to the mark. Even though Ron's confidence had grown this summer, there was still a fear lurking deep inside of him. The fear that someday Harry Potter would realize that he had no use for a nobody like him. Harry had Hermione, the smartest witch in a generation. Harry was friends with Viktor Krum, the greatest seeker in the world. Harry could walk in and talk to the Minister of Magic, or the Headmaster of Hogwarts, any time he wished. What did he need with Ron Weasley? That fear had driven all of his efforts to get Harry and Ginny together. If they were together Ron would automatically always be a part of Harry's life.

As Ron Weasley looked deep down inside himself, he was disgusted with what he saw. Harry had always been loyal to him, throughout everything they had gone through. He had put up with Ron's jealousies and accusations and never wavered. He was the best friend anyone could ever want. He didn't deserve the way Ron had acted. It was a long time before sleep came that night

-----

"Harry, about last night." Harry was roused from his thoughts of Ron and shifted uncomfortably as he recalled where he had spent the previous night, but Hermione took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "It must have been awfully uncomfortable sitting in that chair all night." It was once again bedtime and Hermione had paused before heading to her room.

"No, actually," Harry responded quickly. "Those chairs lean back and you can fall asleep in them pretty well."

Hermione laughed. "I know. Lots of men have them and they often fall asleep in front of the television. It's something of an ongoing joke with women. But I wanted to suggest something else." She knew this was making him nervous, and she was too, but wanted to get it out into the open.

"When we were in the hospital wing after the attack, I woke up with a nightmare. You don't remember because you were unconscious but I was scared so I crawled into bed with you." Harry's jaw dropped. "Madame Pomfrey saw it a little later but left us alone. The next morning she said it was OK if it helped me with the nightmares, but to just be responsible about it." Hermione was blushing now, but was determined to finish. "I know what kind of person you are and you would never take advantage like that, so I think it would be all right if you wanted to sleep on the bed next to me if I have another nightmare tonight." She took a deep breath as she finished and looked anxiously at him to see what his reaction would be.

"Oh, so that's what she was talking about." At Hermione's puzzled look Harry explained the conversation that Pomfrey had with _him_ the next day and they both had a good laugh. Then Harry admitted that he had in fact sat in the bed the night before and Hermione revealed that she had already known.

For the rest of the week, Harry started each night out in the recliner next to Hermione's bed. If she had a nightmare, he crawled onto the bed and just hugged her until she settled down and they both fell asleep. By the end of the week the nightmares had diminished and he returned to sleeping in his own room. They had discovered that his mental connection with Hermione, strengthened by their telepathy practice, enabled him to hear her calling him in his mind when she had a nightmare. For the rest of the summer, and for a while after their return to Hogwarts, whenever he sensed her having a nightmare he would go into her room and comfort her.

Back in his own room, Harry thought about how he had been 'sleeping with' Hermione. He was relieved that he hadn't become aroused, or been tempted to do anything inappropriate while in the bed with her. He had just been hugging her to comfort her, much like she had often done for him. It was also true, though, that he had enjoyed the experience very much and had found it quite comforting for himself as well. And, he realized, he never had any nightmares while he slept with her either.

---------------

A/N I was surprised that no one commented on my teasing of shippers last chapter. Where I had Ginny say that half the school thought Hermione would get together with Harry and the other half thought she would get together with Ron, and that the two sides had given themselves nicknames. Oh well, I had fun with it.


	23. Final Preparations

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Thanks to Old Crow and Dee for their helpful suggestions on this chapter.

**---------------**

**Chapter 23, Final Preparations**

Tuesday, August 12

_Now what do we do?_

Harry had been so focused for the last two months on finding the horcruxes that he hadn't given much thought to what they would do when they found them. Oh, he knew that they had to be destroyed, but he had no idea of how that would happen. They had two weeks before the start of the new school year to figure something out. The day after Ginny's party was the first 'normal' day for Harry and Hermione in some time. After their morning run, before their training session they stopped to talk about the week ahead.

Hermione hesitated, unsure about whether to broach a certain subject again. "OK, tomorrow we meet at Hogwarts to talk about how to destroy them. Later in the week do you think you might want to …"

"Look for my grandparents?" Hermione nodded, relieved that he seemed OK with the topic. She was not surprised that he knew what she had been about to ask. While they hadn't been able to mentally exchange specific phrases yet, their telepathy practice had made them even more aware than before of what was on each other's minds. "So you think they're still alive, then?"

"I think they might be. It's clear that Dumbledore and McGonagall didn't know everything that was going on with your family. Maybe your aunt knows something."

"But why would she do that?" Harry protested. "How could she lie about something like that? They were Dudley's grandparents too! How could she not let her own son know his grandparents?"

"I think I want to have another talk with your aunt," Hermione said after a pause. "Is that OK with you?"

Harry considered his friend. She could be scary when she was passionate about something. He almost felt sorry for Aunt Petunia. Almost. "Sure. Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, I think I can handle it." Hermione had a determined look on her face. Harry shuddered. Definitely scary.

They were now about ready to begin drills for spellcasting power. "OK. Who all are we meeting with tomorrow?"

"Remus, Bill, McGonagall, Flitwick, and hopefully Dumbledore."

-----

The slightest of pops announced the arrival of Hermione Granger at Number 4 Privet Drive. She soon found Petunia Dursley in the kitchen.

"What are you doing here?" the older woman snapped. "I thought your kind were never coming back here." Without warning, she found herself slammed up against the wall and held there, seemingly by invisible bonds.

"I want some answers and I want them now," Hermione hissed. "What happened to your parents?" Petunia Dursley paled. She was hoping that this moment would never have come. Hesitantly, with some painful prodding from Hermione, she revealed the charade that she had concocted years ago to separate herself from the last remaining members of her family.

When she finished, she saw the girl wave her wand and say something, and soon a box came flying into the kitchen, a box that she had hidden away and forgotten long ago. Then she looked up and shuddered at the blazing eyes of the furious witch in front of her. With a loud crash every glass in the room exploded. In a blink she was once more alone in her kitchen.

-----

That evening Hermione slowly approached Harry holding an old, battered box. Dinner had been a tense affair, as she related what she had learned from Petunia and he became more and more angry, finally stalking out of the room. She had feared that he would withdraw from her and didn't want to let that happen, and hoped this would bring him out of it. Harry looked up as she came in and noticing the nervous look in her eyes, realized how his reaction had affected her and began an apology. Then he saw the box and froze. Engraved on the cover were the initials, _L.E._

There was suddenly a lump in his throat that made it hard to say anything. "What's in it?" he managed.

"I didn't open it yet. I thought you'd like to." She put the box in his lap, and he was finally able to move enough to take it in his hands. She backed off and turned to go, intending to allow him to look through his mum's things in privacy.

"No, don't go," he said looking up at her anxiously. "Please, will you do it with me?" This was something he knew he needed his best friend for.

Together they went through the few treasured possessions of Lily's that had been preserved. Harry carefully pulled out her wand – '_nice for charm work'_ he could hear Ollivander saying – and put it aside. He had an idea he would be needing it. Here were her prefect's and Head Girl badges. There was her Hogwarts acceptance letter. Underneath were a couple of letters from James, with a dried out old flower pressed into one of them. Finally at the bottom was a diary.

"Will you … will you read it to me?" Harry was trying to hold back the tears, and Hermione scooted up next to him and put her arm around him for a while. He dropped his head onto her shoulder and she pulled her arm back and picked up the diary and began to read.

As she read the story of a brilliant young muggleborn witch and her struggles to adjust to the magical world, Hermione felt sometimes like she were reading her own story. The slurs, the suspicions about favoritism, the resentment. The drive to be the best she could be in every subject. And yet it was different, too. Unlike her, Lily had many girl friends, and there was no Harry or Ron in her life. The boys either shunned her for being muggleborn or came on to her, expecting her to be easy. Despite being one of the prettiest witches at Hogwarts, she never had a boyfriend and rarely went out. In her mind, Hermione pictured a pretty, vivacious girl like Ginny, but without all the male attention. And then there was the obnoxious James Potter, who somehow changed during the years from the most despicable boy on earth to not so bad after all to the man she loved. By the time Hermione got to the wedding she had to stop because she could no longer see through the tears in her eyes.

Harry had been very quiet throughout, soaking in every detail he could of the mother he had never known. She hoped that this new evidence of how much his mother had loved his father had helped counteract what he had seen in Snape's memories. They sat there a long time in silence, each contemplating their own image of the girl who had revealed herself in those pages.

Finally, Harry raised his head off of her shoulder and looked at Hermione, gratitude showing in his eyes. "Thank you, Hermione. I'm sure glad I have you." Her heart lurched at hearing this, and all she could do was throw her arms around him and bury her head in his shoulder, not trusting herself to answer. There were no nightmares that night.

-----

Wednesday, August 13

"I just don't know," Bill was saying. "Removing curses is about the trickiest thing there is. If you don't do it just right it can explode on you. And I have no idea what the spell is to make a horcrux so we would be doing it blind."

"I've gone over everything I could find in the library, Miss Granger's library that is, at headquarters and I found only two references to horcruxes, but not the exact spell used," added Flitwick, who had agreed to do research on horcruxes during their last visit to Hogwarts.

Dumbledore's portrait was again empty. One of the other former headmaster's portraits had explained that a portrait of him was being unveiled in the Wizengamot chambers at the Ministry this week and his presence was therefore required there.

"So how did Dumbledore destroy the ring?" asked Harry dejectedly.

"Raw power, probably," said Bill. "That would almost certainly have set it off. And you saw the result." They all nodded, recalling Dumbledore's blackened stump of a hand. "A less powerful wizard would probably have been killed instead of just injured."

"Then what do we do?" Hermione was getting worried now. It would be just like Harry to try to blast the things the way Dumbledore had, consequences be damned. "The method Dumbledore used …"

"Was exactly the way not to destroy a horcrux," came a voice from Dumbledore's portrait. He had finally returned. "We have two examples of how to destroy a horcrux, the right way and the wrong way. I suggest that it would be more profitable to examine Harry's more successful method than dwell on my own failure."

"But I just stabbed it with a basilisk fang," objected Harry.

"Precisely," countered the portrait. "I have been pondering this for nearly all of my time since I awoke in this frame. I have concluded that there are several reasons that you were successful where I barely escaped with my life."

"First, that it was in fact you who destroyed it. The prophecy stated that you would have the power to defeat the dark lord, and this is part of defeating him. Had I been less confident in my ability and more willing to trust the prophecy I would have waited and let you destroy the ring."

"But what power do I have that I could destroy it more successfully than you?"

"That is not necessarily for us to understand. It remains however, that you succeeded in destroying the diary without injury to yourself. Another example is in your ability to summon the sword of Gryffindor. I cannot do that, nor can anyone else I know. Like that, it is something within you."

Bill had been startled by the sword comment, but refrained from saying anything, giving a surreptitious glance at the sword on the wall. The ability to summon magical objects was rare, and as far as he knew was an indication of a connection between the original owner and the wizard who could summon it. He began to mentally put the pieces together. He knew that Harry had killed the basilisk but had either overlooked or forgotten the important detail that he had used the Sword of Gryffindor to do it. In his line of work he had studied ancient legacies and myths much more than anyone else in this room. The basilisk had been the Monster of Slytherin, controllable only by Slytherin's heir. It had been defeated by the Sword of Gryffindor, wielded by …the Heir of Gryffindor? And now Dumbledore had just referred to a prophecy that stated that Harry would be the one to destroy Voldemort, the Heir of Slytherin. Could it be?

While Bill had been following this line of reasoning Dumbledore had continued. "Second, there were two distinct components to what you did, physically destroying the diary and also destroying the soul fragment." At everyone's puzzled looks he explained. "Piercing the diary physically destroyed it. The basilisk venom acted to destroy the soul fragment instead of allowing it to be released. I believe that the two-stage attack is much more effective than a single attack.

"Finally, enchanted objects have powerful defenses against magical attacks. You destroyed it by non-magical means, where I used a magical spell. It seems to me that that is the final key."

Not surprisingly, it was Hermione who broke the silence that followed. "So we need to use basilisk venom or something toxic like it. And we need to find a non-magical means to destroy a cup, a locket, and a dagger." She paused, considering. "And I suppose both need to happen at the same time?"

The painting's eyes twinkled, just as Dumbledore's had in real life. "Precisely, Ms Granger. Full marks." Hermione blushed and turned shyly to see Harry grinning at her, mouthing the words 'know-it-all'. She punched him in the shoulder and pretended to pout, relenting when Harry pulled her into a brief one-armed hug, to the laughter of the others present.

Harry took up where she had left off. "Would there be any more basilisk venom in the one in the chamber? Not that I'm crazy about the idea of going back down there again."

"No, not after it's been dead for four years," replied Remus.

"Acromantula venom's almost as effective as basilisk venom," said Bill thoughtfully. I've heard there are acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest, but of course I have no idea …"

Images flashed through Harry's mind. _Acromantula venom. Aragog. Slughorn collecting several bottles of venom before Hagrid buried his onetime pet._ Without listening to Bill bemoan the difficulty of obtaining the rare substance Harry leapt from his chair and raced to the fireplace.

"Professor Slughorn!" he yelled after tossing in the floo powder. After an interminable wait, the rotund professor's face appeared in the flames. Initially annoyed at being disturbed, his face brightened at the sight of Harry.

"Harry, my boy. What a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you? Come to do a little extra credit potions work during the summer?" Harry noticed Hermione's scowl at the potion professor's reference to Harry's presumed potions prowess and sighed. After all the two of them had been through together this summer she was still steamed about that.

"No professor. I'm, uh, working on a different project and I need some acromantula venom. I wonder if you still have any?"

Slughorn's demeanor changed instantly. He glanced back and forth nervously before saying, "Acromantula venom? No, of course not. Why would you think I had any of that?"

"Because I was with you when you collected it," snapped Harry impatiently. He recalled Slughorn's glee at the thought of obtaining some of the precious fluid … '_a hundred Galleons a pint_' … had he sold it all?

Slughorn's face turned red and angry. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about. Good day!"

"That git!" Harry exclaimed, turning from the fireplace to see an array of bewildered faces staring at him. "Um, OK, I guess that all needs some explaining."

Eventually Harry had explained the adventure to everyone's satisfaction. Hermione had known most of the story and wouldn't let him leave anything out, much to his annoyance. He suspected it was somehow payback for the potions thing. Remus looked thoughtful, McGonagall was furious with Slughorn for taking advantage of Hagrid and Harry, Flitwick was fascinated about the part where Hagrid had kept an acromantula as a pet while a student, and Bill couldn't believe that Harry and Ron had faced a forest full of the giant spiders at the age of twelve.

Finally, when Harry had finished, he returned to the problem of the venom. "I guess I'll just have to go get some more," he concluded as though it were a run down to the corner store. Noticing the glare of the headmistress and the perplexed looks of the others, he amended, "I mean, uh, Hagrid and I will go see the acromantulas and ask for some more."

"Harrrrry," growled Hermione threateningly.

"Hermione, it's too dangerous," protested Harry, but recognizing the determined look in her eyes.

"Not. A. Chance," she retorted, punctuating each syllable with a poke to his chest. "If you're going, I'm going."

"What makes you think I'll allow either of you to go into there?" demanded McGonagall.

Harry turned to her. "Professor, I'm going to be going into a lot more dangerous situations than that this year. If you can't deal with that, then …" He didn't need to finish the threat. He had her and she knew it, but he didn't want to rub it in and relented a little. "Look, we'll be with Hagrid and we'll take a portkey, OK? We'll be all right, honest."

"I'm coming too," stated Remus, in a tone that left no room for discussion. "I've spent a fair amount of time in that forest myself."

Seeking to change the subject as well as return to their task, Hermione broke in. "Now that that's settled, what about the other part?" Having refocused their attention, she continued. "We need to physically destroy the horcruxes without using magic, right?" The portrait of Dumbledore nodded with satisfaction. She looked around the group and realized that for a bunch of wizards this would be the difficult part. "I doubt if we can just hit it with a hammer." She addressed this to Harry since she knew that the others wouldn't have a clue what she was saying. "Maybe melt it or …"

"Like the Terminator!" Harry exclaimed.

"Oh, you mean drop it into a vat of molten iron. But that would probably destroy the acromantula venom, too"

"Actually, I was thinking of Terminator 2. When the liquid nitrogen poured all over him and then he shattered. That was so cool!" Hermione smiled at his enthusiasm, then winced at the pun.

Meanwhile Bill was staring at them as though they had started speaking in some foreign language. Remus leaned over to him and patted his arm consolingly. "They do that a lot. You get used to it."

Hermione hadn't noticed. "What I was about to say is maybe find something that could dissolve them. Hmm, the locket and dagger are made of gold and the cup is silver." All of a sudden there was a look in her eye that Harry immediately recognized, the 'I've got it' look. She turned to Harry and said excitedly. "We need to take another look at that list of parents of muggleborns." She rose and took his hand, leading him out of the office.

"What we need," she explained, "is a chemistry teacher."

-----

They were back at Hogwarts the next day, ready for their expedition into the Forbidden Forest. After poring over the parchments, they had come up with the name of a retired chemistry professor from a small college outside of London and had made an appointment to visit him next week. Hagrid was waiting for them as they arrived, but for a change seemed reluctant to venture into the forest.

"Yeh remember me tellin' yeh 'bout them other spiders not lettin' me near their webs now that Aragog's gone," said Hagrid, shaking his head. "I don' know as this's gonna work."

"We'll see about that," replied Harry with determination. He needed that venom. He hoped to persuade them by being respectful, but forceful.

In a trek eerily reminiscent of the time he and Ron had followed the spiders into the forest their second year, the four of them gradually made their way in deeper and deeper, and slowly became aware that they were being surrounded. With multiple clicking noises the spiders escorted them to their lair. The largest spider there, who Harry assumed must be Aragog's mate, Mosag, approached them. Harry felt Hermione's hand take hold of his arm, and he knew her other hand held her wand, ready to activate the portkey.

"We told you that you were no longer welcome here, Hagrid," the giant spider clicked at them. And your companions have never been welcome." It then turned its attention to Remus. "This one is familiar." Remus nodded but said nothing. Finally the spider noticed Harry. "We have met before."

Harry stepped forward, but Hermione would not release his arm, so came with him, hanging back a bit. "We met four years ago, and Aragog told me of a great enemy of yours in the castle. I slew it." There was a massive amount of clicking at this statement, the spiders clearly agitated at this statement.

"How can this be?" the great spider queried. "How could one of your stature slay the king of serpents."

Harry said nothing, but extended his arm. From nowhere a shining sword appeared and he caught in his hand. The spiders drew back in alarm, but when he made no aggressive moves they crept forward again.

"This is the blade of one of the founders of Hogwarts. It is mine now. I wield it against evil. I killed the king of serpents, the Monster of Slytherin, and I will destroy its master."

There was another pause, filled with another clicking exchange. Finally Mosag addressed Harry again. "We acknowledge a debt to you. Why are you here now?"

"I do not wish for you to be in my debt." Harry responded. "I only ask a favor, as between friends. I need some of your venom to help me defeat my foe. And I would like to see your friendship with Hagrid restored. He truly loved your mate."

"We can grant your first request. As to your second, we will consider it. Hagrid has been a good friend through the years." At Harry's signal, Hagrid approached with a small flask. Unflinchingly, the half giant held it before the fangs of the acromantula, and they all watched, fascinated, as it filled the vessel with venom.

"I thank you," said Harry, bowing to the spider. "If there is ever another service which I can provide for you, please let me know." The spiders all bowed in return and parted to allow the four to leave the forest.

"Whew, I'm glad that's over," Harry announced as they approached the castle. "Those things are creepy."

"Harry, I can't believe you!" said Hermione, shuddering briefly. "I was scared out of my mind. How could you just stand there and calmly talk to them like that?"

Harry stopped and turned to face her, somewhat surprised. "I had to do it. We needed that venom."

Hermione stared at him for a moment, then took his hand and resumed walking into the castle, shaking her head.

_What am I going to do with this boy?_

-----

After a pleasant lunch, with congratulations from those professors who were aware of the morning's mission, they reassembled, this time in the staff room. To Harry and Hermione's surprise, there were others present this time, including all of the heads of houses, Tonks, Mrs. Figg, Mrs. Longbottom, and a man and a woman they didn't recognize, although they looked familiar.

McGonagall began, "I thought you would all be interested in some of the changes we are planning for the upcoming year. First, allow me to introduce our new staff.

As most of you know, Arabella Figg will be replacing Argus Filch as caretaker of the castle. She brings with her quite a few lovely creatures to assist her." Harry snickered at this. It stood to reason that McGonagall would be inclined to be partial to cats.

"Professor Binns has finally decided to leave us. I am happy to announce that I have persuaded Augusta Longbottom to take his place. Professor Longbottom has studied the history of the magical world extensively for the past fifteen years, and I understand that she will be teaching the course somewhat differently than Professor Binns did."

Hermione leaned over and murmured to Harry, "Maybe she'll cover something from this century." As she hadn't particularly tried to keep from being overheard, there were smiles from many of the others in the room at this comment, Augusta Longbottom included.

McGonagall continued, "Professor Longbottom also has some valuable skills in other areas which will be available to select students in private tutoring sessions."

"Moving along, we have two new professors for Muggle Studies, Andromeda Tonks and Theodore Tonks." Harry and Hermione couldn't believe their ears. They now realized why these two had looked familiar – they were Tonks's parents. Andromeda was Sirius's cousin, sister of Bellatrix and Narcissa. And they recalled what Sirius had told them about why she had been blasted off of the Black family tapestry. Andromeda had married a muggleborn! McGonagall had heeded their suggestion and had managed to hire a muggleborn professor for Muggle Studies.

Something else occurred to Hermione. McGonagall was staffing the castle with people who would be valuable in training Harry, and at the same time helping protect the relatives of some of those who were closest to him. She could sense that he noticed this as well. Now they both were curious, though. If Remus and Tonks were going to share the Defense post, they were still one professor short.

"Now, returning to us as Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts is Remus Lupin. He will also be taking over as Head of House for Gryffindor. As you are all aware, Professor Lupin suffers from Lycanthropy. Since both our Head Boy and Head Girl are from Gryffindor this year, it is my hope that they can assist him in that duty." Harry and Hermione glanced at each other at this statement, then turned as one and nodded to the headmistress.

"Finally, assuming my old position as professor of Transfiguration will be Nymphadora Tonks." At that announcement, Harry sat back in thought. _OK, I guess that makes sense. Tonks certainly has some natural ability in transfiguration._ Looking over at Hermione he could see that she was having similar thoughts, but she wasn't happy about something. He guessed that she was concerned that the quality of instruction might suffer, due to Lupin's ailment and Tonks' potential weakness in the theoretical aspects of her subject.

McGonagall was not finished. "I feel that both our new Defense professor and our new Transfiguration professor will require some assistance. I would like to offer Harry Potter the position of teaching assistant for Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Harry jerked his head back. Had he heard correctly? Before he could ask himself the next question – why me? – he already knew the answer. He could feel Hermione's I-told-you-so grin next to him without even looking.

McGonagall continued, "Mr. Potter's primary role will be to teach Defense classes when Professor Lupin is incapacitated." She now spoke directly to Harry. "If, for some reason, you need to be absent during one of those times, Miss Tonks will cover the Defense classes and I will pick up her Transfiguration classes." Harry nodded. It seemed like that would work out. He was fairly confident that he could handle teaching a few days a month. It didn't sound as though he needed to do any lesson plans.

This time, McGonagall was the one who seemed to be reading his mind. "Don't worry, Mr. Potter, you won't be required to prepare any lessons. Professor Lupin is more than capable of doing that. Even if you were, I imagine Miss Granger would be willing to assist you." Harry could swear that she had inherited Dumbledore's eye twinkle as she said that.

"With that in mind," McGonagall was now saying, "I would also like to offer Hermione Granger the position of teaching assistant for Transfiguration." This time it was Hermione's turn to be surprised, and she blushed slightly and lowered her head shyly before gathering herself and nodding to McGonagall. Now this, Harry thought smiling to himself, made even more sense than his appointment did. "Unlike Mr. Potter's role, Miss Granger's duties will include helping Professor Tonks prepare appropriate year level lessons, and assigning and helping grade homework." Hermione had stopped blushing and from the look in her eyes was already eagerly anticipating her first assignments. But McGonagall wasn't finished yet. "In this case, I believe that Mr. Potter will be able to assist Miss Granger." She paused, anticipating the curious looks she received. "Assist her in restraining herself from overburdening her students." At this every professor present who had had Hermione in class burst out laughing, and Hermione tried to hide her sheepish look in Harry's shoulder, as he had taken the opportunity to grab her in a big congratulatory hug.

McGonagall wasn't finished yet. "There will be more assistants as well. Charlie Weasley has returned from Rumania to be at home for a while. While living at home, he will occasionally be assisting Professor Hagrid with Care of Magical Creatures. And I believe Madame Hooch may find some things for him to do with quidditch as well." Everyone smiled at this. Charlie had been very popular as a student, and they all knew that his two passions were magical creatures and flying, which he had managed to combine in his career as a dragon handler. Harry and Hermione, though, continued to be impressed with McGonagall's secondary motives. Charlie would provide another link with the Order, and his traveling back and forth between Hogwarts and his parent's house in England gave them a natural courier.

McGonagall went on, "I also intend to appoint more student teaching assistants, as soon as I speak to the individuals I have in mind and obtain their agreement. I would like to have one for each subject, although their duties will not be as extensive as Mr. Potter's and Miss Granger's."

"Now, on another matter. Miss Granger and Mr. Potter, along with Mr. Weasley, will be doing an independent study project this year. They approached me during the summer to propose this project and I agreed. If it is successful they will be graduated with honors." There were quite a few reactions to this announcement. There were knowing smiles, tinged with apprehension, from Remus, Tonks, Flitwick, and Longbottom, who knew exactly what a successful conclusion to the project would mean, and that 'honors' was a rather accurate term for what would accrue to the trio. There was thoughtful nodding from those who had some inkling of the project, including Slughorn who thought he knew more about it than he did. There were also confused looks from the rest, as there had never been any 'honors projects' at Hogwarts that they could remember.

"In light of this, they will be taking a reduced class schedule, and may be required to leave Hogwarts to do research at certain times. I'm telling you this now so that you will understand if they are absent from class occasionally."

-----

After a break for refreshments and general conversation, which included congratulations from everyone on their new appointments and a few questions about Harry and Hermione's independent study project. ("We're keeping it secret – we want to surprise everyone," was all they would say.) McGonagall called for their attention again.

"As you all know, for a few years now the Sorting Hat has begun the school year with an admonition for the different houses to come together and get along better. Frankly, house rivalries have become so divisive as to negatively impact the learning experience here at Hogwarts. When I met this summer with Mr. Potter and Miss Granger to offer them the Head Boy and Head Girl positions, they shared similar concerns with me. I would like to discuss ways that we might attempt to overcome the divisions in our school. Several of the professors and I have been thinking about it, as have Mr. Potter and Miss Granger. Miss Granger, would you care to begin?"

Hermione rose, somewhat self-consciously, and began. "Harry and I feel that we need more opportunities for students to get to know one another outside of class. For example, during our fifth year we formed a, let's call it a study group, with students from other houses as well as our own." There were several snorts at her use of the term 'study group', and one professor was heard to mutter, "blasted educational decrees", but everyone was eager to hear what she had to say. "We got to know students from other houses, even ones in our own year, better during those few study sessions than we had the entire four years previously." The professors nodded thoughtfully at this. It made sense. Many remembered that there had been several such groups, such as the Charms Club or the Gobstones Club, in the past, but they had fallen by the wayside.

Flitwick spoke up first. "Miss Granger, I believe that you are on to something. Certainly I am sure that a number of the students in my house would jump at the opportunity to study with you." There were quite a few chuckles at this, and Hermione couldn't help blushing at the compliment. "But since you mentioned a specific group, which I believe was called the DA, would you and Mr. Potter consent to reviving it?"

Hermione looked at Harry and he took that as his cue. "Actually, we are strongly considering it. I'm not sure how many students will be interested, but …" He was interrupted by a snort from Tonks. Then a few others began to chuckle. Finally most of the professors were laughing out loud, even McGonagall, who was trying to stifle it with her hand in front of her mouth. Harry just looked helplessly at Hermione, who was fighting unsuccessfully to keep a straight face of her own. Finally she just gave in and began chuckling herself, shaking her head slightly then pulling him into a one armed hug with her head leaning against his shoulder.

"Honestly, Harry," she muttered between chuckles, "do you really think students won't be interested in learning defense from Harry Potter?" The mirth was interrupted by Slughorn.

"Excuse me, but this seems to be some sort of inside joke. Since this study group occurred in my absence, would anyone care to enlighten me?"

All the professors looked at each other, not sure whether they should reveal how much they had known about an 'illegal' club. Finally McGonagall spoke up. "The Defense professor during Mr. Potter and Miss Granger's fifth year was … pretty much totally incompetent." Most of the others in the room, who had never heard the stern professor badmouth any colleague before, were shocked that she would say such a thing, but she went on to describe in surprisingly accurate detail how Hermione and Ron had persuaded Harry to teach a defense study group. How they had spent the year learning spells while evading detection, and how the students in the group had collectively received the highest OWL and NEWT scores in Defense at the school. When Slughorn asked her what DA stood for, she hesitated, then began to say, "Defense Assoc…"

"Dumbledore's Army," Harry interrupted, with pride in his voice. Hermione nodded, her eyes glistening slightly, and everyone suddenly had a lump in their throats.

"Thank you Mr. Potter," McGonagall said, after regaining her composure. "Besides forming clubs and such, was there anything else?"

Hermione spoke up again. "On occasion, like when we visited this summer and when we stayed over the Christmas holidays, there were few enough of us at meals that we all ate at one table. While we don't want to give up the house tables completely, would it be possible at times for the students to be able to mingle among the different tables?"

"For example," Harry continued, "When I dated Cho Chang I could never eat a meal with her or visit her outside class." He failed to notice Hermione stiffen slightly at the mention of Cho. "Maybe we could have multiple small tables for some meals, like breakfast and lunch, when we aren't all eating at the same time anyway, and have the house tables at dinner."

"And even at dinner, maybe you could permit students to sit with other houses except on formal occasions," finished Hermione.

Ted Tonks had never met these two students, but thought that listening to them talk was rather like watching a tennis match, they way they batted ideas back and forth. The ideas they were proposing would be good ones at any school, muggle or magic.

Flitwick spoke up again. "I was present at the initial conversation Minerva mentioned, and I have given it some thought as well. Most of the students' studying takes place in the library or common rooms. While they may mingle freely in the library, as soon as they leave they must segregate themselves. If two students from different houses wanted to study together, or work on a joint project, they have problems finding a place to meet. The library is not exactly the best place for spirited discussion." Everyone agreed with this. Madame Pince ran a tight ship and didn't tolerate much conversation. "Perhaps we might relax the restrictions on common rooms to permit guests during certain hours?"

McGonagall nodded. "We may be able to implement something like that. We would have to warn students about giving away their passwords, or perhaps simply instruct the portraits to permit access based on house affiliation and do away with passwords entirely."

"That would certainly help Neville out a lot," quipped Harry. Again there was chuckling from those who knew Neville, including, to many's surprise, his grandmother.

"If that's all …" began McGonagall, who then hesitated, looking around to check.

"Well, I had one more idea," answered Harry. "The one thing around here that generates the greatest amount of bad feelings, that frequently ends up with people wanting to kill each other."

He paused. "Quidditch."

McGonagall gasped, "Surely, Mr. Potter, you aren't suggesting that we eliminate quidditch!" If it weren't so serious, some of them might have been amused at the almost religious devotion to the sport shown by the former Gryffindor head of house.

"No, no, not eliminate it," Harry quickly reassured them. "Just change it a little." He really had their attention now. "Remember at my birthday, when we just got together and played? None of us were trying to kill each other, we were just having fun. And it was still pretty competitive." Those who had been at Harry's party agreed. He and Krum had put on one of the more spectacular displays of flying that any of them had ever seen. And they had been laughing and joking with each other the whole time.

"OK," he said, getting their attention once more. Without realizing it they all leaned forward a little. "Here's my plan."

---------------

A/N Sorry, you don't get to hear the quidditch plan just yet. On the bright side though – only two more chapters to go.


	24. Meetings

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Thanks to Old Crow and Dee for their helpful suggestions on this chapter.

A reviewer, David305, informed me that Ted Tonks was a muggleborn, not a muggle as I stated in the last chapter. I have changed the wording in that chapter and this one to correct my error.

---------------

**Chapter 24, Meetings  
**

Friday, August 15

They finished up their week back at Hogwarts along with Ron to meet once more with McGonagall. Now that they had accepted their extra duties, they needed to finalize their schedules. Hermione and McGonagall were initially shocked when Harry announced his plans, although Hermione soon realized that what he told them made sense.

Harry had decided not to continue Potions, neither was he continuing in Herbology. In persuading McGonagall and Hermione, he pointed out that he needed to focus on what would keep him alive during a fight. If he needed a potion or needed to know something about a plant, he could consult with Hermione or Neville. He would worry about NEWTs and careers later.

Accordingly, he had decided to take only Charms and Transfiguration as a regular student, in addition to sitting in on most of the Defense classes. All three of them were continuing their private tutoring from Remus and Tonks and Mrs. Longbottom and an occasional defense specialist that Harry would hire. He had also decided that he would need to be gone from the castle one day a week, meeting with Viktor and others.

After hearing his reasoning, Hermione had reluctantly made a similar decision and was taking only Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, and Arithmency, having already progressed beyond NEWT level in Defense. At McGonagall's suggestion they decided to ask Bill to provide her occasional tutoring in Ancient Runes, so that she would be able to obtain NEWT certification in that subject as well, and she was able to work out a similar arrangement with Mrs. Longbottom in History of Magic. When she had time she would try to work with Neville on Herbology to keep up her skills in that class. She and Harry would also consult occasionally with the elder Professors Tonks regarding Muggle Studies.

Harry surprised them again when he revealed that he intended to play quidditch. Hermione was impressed, because she had been going to suggest exactly that, and had expected to have difficulty persuading him. She had been sure that he would decide that there simply was no place in his life for anything frivolous and would have to study and train all of the time. She was pleased that he realized, without her having to point it out to him, that he needed the kind of balance that enjoyable activities provided in his life, to keep him from burning out. Harry assured them that he had no intention of being a quidditch captain, however, turning that position over to Ron. He jokingly asked Ron if he could still be on the team, even if he wouldn't have much time to practice.

After Ron got over his shock, he enthusiastically accepted the quidditch position, and assured Harry that he would have a place on any team that Ron captained. He immediately began making plans to implement the reorganization of the quidditch tournament that he and Harry had come up with. As for his own classes, Ron would continue in Defense, Charms, Transfiguration, and Herbology, and decided to resume Care of Magical Creatures. To Hermione's disappointment, he also decided to drop Potions. As a result, she would be in the class without any other Gryffindors. At Harry and Hermione's insistence, Ron reluctantly agreed to take the revamped Muggle Studies course that they were helping the Tonks's develop, although he had a suspicion that he was going to be their test subject. Harry and Ron would also be getting some sword training.

Some of the special considerations they were to receive included a floo connection from the Head suite to the Headmasters office and reusable portkeys to Grimmauld Place. In the aftermath of the battle at Crouch Manor, Flitwick had informed Hermione that another type of portkey was possible, one that was voice activated. It needed to be made from a magical item rather than an ordinary item, since a wand was not used to activate it. Hermione had him make hers from the cross necklace from the Potter vault that she now wore every day. McGonagall also set aside an unused room on the third floor corridor near where they had encountered Fluffy during their first year for them to use for their training. It was password protected so that only they or their friends would be able to enter.

Finally the discussion turned to the DA. McGonagall informed them that it would be an official school club and requested that they make it open to all students fourth year and above, not just their friends, and that Tonks or Remus be consulted on the spells they would practice.

"Even Slytherins?" came the predictable objection from Ron.

McGonagall nodded sternly and Harry and Hermione agreed, leaving Ron muttering and shaking his head.

"As long as you have ensured that there are no longer any Voldemort supporters in the school," Harry added, locking his gaze on the headmistress.

"That has been taken care of," she responded, returning his glance evenly. "Mr. Weasley's brothers did indeed prove useful in that regard. Professor Flitwick and I were able to examine each student during the home visits we have been making during the past month. Several students will not be returning, but the remaining ones were able to satisfy us that they are not supporters of the dark lord." She directed her next comment to Ron. "I might point out, Mr. Weasley, that not all of the students who excluded themselves were from Slytherin house."

"How many Slytherin students remain in our year?" asked Harry.

"Only three."

"Returning to the DA," interrupted Hermione, "we think we will need to organize it differently than we did last time if there are going to be a lot more students. We will divide students by ability level and will have some of the better students working with the least experienced ones. Harry will be spending most of his time with the advanced students, but will work at least part of the time with each group."

McGonagall was quite happy with this plan, but frowned at the next statement.

"We will still be using a secrecy charm." Hermione stared defiantly at the headmistress and stood her ground until McGonagall relented and gave her assent. When it came to keeping Harry Potter safe, she realized, Hermione Granger did not mess around. The dressing down that she and Dumbledore's portrait had received last week had been unnerving. This girl was downright frightening where Harry was concerned.

-----

Monday August 18

Harry looked around the office nervously. Professor Cook seemed like a nice enough bloke, but this place reminded him too much of a potions laboratory. He supposed that chemistry must be a lot like potions, but he really didn't understand either of them very well. Hermione, on the other hand, seemed thrilled to be here he thought as he watched his friend eagerly discussing their project with the grandfatherly professor.

Professor Cook was, in fact, a grandfather. His youngest daughter had been in Ravenclaw fifteen years earlier, but his two older daughters were non-magical. Hermione was getting more and more excited as she talked with him about what they needed to do. While she had always been good at potions, they seemed just too random to her. An ingredient in one potion seemed to have a different effect than it did in another potion. As Professor Cook explained to her the different properties of gold and silver, as well as their similarities, and related them all to periodic trends, she realized that this subject made sense. If you knew how something reacted in one case, you could predict how it would react in a related case. It was perfect for her organized mind.

Eventually they came up with several different reactions that they could use to try to destroy the horcruxes. Professor Cook promised to get together the materials they would need and they would come back next week to pick them up. As Harry and Hermione left she decided that she would love to come back some day and take a chemistry course from him. Well, not him, she amended, since he was retired, but from the friendly chem prof across the hall, who had smiled at her and somehow almost seemed to know her.

-----

Harry was in the kitchen getting dinner together and wondering what was keeping Hermione when he got a sudden feeling of her presence, which accompanied a pop from the next room that announced her arrival. He could sense her excitement before she even entered the kitchen.

"Harry! I think I found them!" He braced himself for the now familiar display of her exuberance as she came hurtling toward him with a hug. After disengaging, he made her sit down and tell the whole story while he finished preparing dinner, noting that she was in her blonde disguise today.

"Your aunt gave me a general idea of where they lived, and I've been checking it out. They sold their house years ago, but I found a neighbor who told me that they moved into a flat in a retirement village. They didn't know which one, though, so I've been visiting every one I could find. I finally found them today." Hermione paused, looking at Harry to see how he was taking this information. He had stopped working on dinner and was just standing there staring out the kitchen window. She got up and walked up behind him, wrapping her arms around him and leaning her head on his back.

"If you're ready, we can make arrangements to see them on Thursday or Friday." Harry thought about it, then slowly agreed. He had had so many emotional ups and downs the past few weeks that he wasn't sure if he was ready for another one. But if they were going to do this it would be better to get it done before classes started, when time would be at a premium.

"Do you want to ask Ron to come too?"

"I … I think so. I know they're muggles and living in a muggle community, but I'd like to have him there."

"What about Ginny?"

"Yeah, she should be there too." He turned around finally, and she could now see that he was smiling. She relaxed, and they talked for a little more about the visit, then sat down to dinner.

-----

Friday, August 22

Harry approached the apartment with some trepidation. _Could this really be happening?_ Hermione waited patiently beside him. Ginny and Ron hung further back, nervous about being in the muggle neighborhood, afraid they would do something wrong. Ginny was determined to overcome her nervousness and be here to support Harry, and was urging Ron to catch up. Hermione pressed the doorbell. Suddenly there was an answering voice from the intercom. Ginny and Ron looked around frantically, trying to locate the hidden person, but Hermione pressed the talk button confidently.

"Dr. Evans? It's Hermione Granger. I called you the other day about stopping by? My friends and I would like to talk with you." The security door buzzed and they entered the hallway, Hermione and Harry dragging Ron and Ginny through the doorway. At the end of the hall a door opened and an elderly man beckoned them inside. While Hermione spoke to the man and Ginny and Ron looked around at the muggle apartment Harry stared at a woman who was just coming into the room. A woman with vivid green eyes.

A look of shock appeared on the woman's face and she threw her hand up to her mouth. "James!"

The man whirled and he and Hermione moved quickly forward to catch her as she wobbled on unsteady feet. "No, Rosie, it's not James. He's dead remember? He and Lily?" The man turned to Harry. "I'm sorry son, you look remarkably like our son-in-law, but he's been dead for …"

Without thinking, Harry finished the sentence. "For sixteen years. I know." Ginny had moved up from behind Harry and was clutching his arm tightly. The man just stared at Harry silently.

Hermione finally spoke up. "Mr. and Mrs. Evans you should probably sit down for this. She gestured to the sofa and Harold Evans nodded and guided his wife over to it and helped her sit, then joined her. He looked up at Hermione, then back at Harry.

"You know something about James and Lily, don't you?"

Harry finally found his voice. "Sir, I … I'm …" He swallowed hard. "I'm Harry. Harry Potter. James and Lily's son." He gestured weakly toward Hermione. "My friend here recently found out where you lived and I wanted to meet you and …" he stopped, not knowing how to explain.

Harold Evans had been a brilliant physician and his mind was a sharp as ever. After the death of one daughter and being cut off from contact with the other his wife's health had steadily declined and she had had to retire early, unable to continue her practice. She had been a psychiatrist, and he knew from her stories all about long lost families being reunited. He also knew, however, about the scams that were perpetrated on the elderly by con artists claiming to be long lost relatives. These four children looked pretty young to be pulling off such a scam, and the boy did look remarkably like James. Then he noticed the boy's eyes. Lily's eyes. Rosie's eyes.

He looked over at his wife. She had already noticed the eyes and tears were running from her own. He looked back at the boy. "Harry? But Petunia told us you were dead. How?"

A scowl appeared on Harry's face and he felt a hand squeeze his own, giving him strength, then another do the same on his other side. "She told me you were dead too," he answered, trying to keep his voice from breaking. "Grandma? Grandpa?" Then soft hands were pushing him forward and his grandpa was rising, then they were embracing and the tears came freely. Somehow his grandma was helped to her feet and he was hugging her too and one thought kept going through his mind. _He had a family. He had a family. He had a family!_

Soon they were all seated, Rose unwilling to let Harry sit anywhere other than right beside her on the sofa where she wouldn't let go of him. Hermione joined them on the sofa and Ginny curled up on the floor in front of Harry with her head leaning against his legs. Ron noticed that he was the only one in the room not crying, so he began the tale. How Harry had survived at the age of one when Lily and James had been killed. How he had been sent by the Hogwarts headmaster to live with the Dursleys because they were thought to be his only remaining relatives. How Petunia had kept Harry in the dark about his wizard heritage until he was eleven.

Harold Evans interrupted at this point to fill in some gaps in the tale from his point of view. About how Lily had told them that she and James were in danger and persuaded them to take a year's sabbatical and travel on the continent. About the cover story she and James had devised and spread in the magical community that her parents had been killed while traveling abroad. How the messages from her had abruptly come to a halt halfway through the year, and the stone wall they had run into trying to find out what had happened. How at last Petunia had told them that James and Lily and Harry had been killed and that there was still danger and that they should absolutely avoid contact with the magical community. Of course they had no means of contacting anyone anyway. And finally how Petunia had turned on them and accused them of always favoring Lily and screamed at them that they had got what they deserved when she died. How she hated them and never wanted to see them again and forbade them from ever contacting her or her family again, cutting them out of her life.

As they revealed this Harry and Hermione were struck by the similarity to their own situation, where they had sent Hermione's parents off to America for their safety. Lily had gone further, though, by telling everyone that her parents were dead. It made sense now, why no one had known they were still alive. Hermione shuddered as she wondered what would happen to her parents if she were killed. At least Remus and Tonks would be able to contact them with the cell phones.

Harold finished his story. Finally giving up on learning anything more about what happened to Lily, they had moved to another community and tried to start over, but with only mixed success. He managed to affiliate with a hospital, but Rose was unable to get over the loss of her daughters and grandsons, and could not continue her medical practice.

Hermione was now able to pick up the story, and told a carefully worded version of how the three had met at school and been friends since their first year, Ginny joining them a year later. How the evil wizard was still out there and still trying to kill Harry, but that they had been resisting him successfully for years now. She assured them that the two of them were safe here; since it had taken her so long to find them no pureblood wizard without experience in the normal world would ever manage it, and none would think to look for them anyway.

When the conversation had about run its course, Harry asked something that had been on his mind for a while. "You never saw their graves, did you?" They sadly acknowledged that they had not. "I never have either. Would you like to come with me to visit them sometime?" With tears once more in their eyes they immediately accepted.

"Harry?" The practical side of Hermione interjected. "We're going to be pretty busy next week, and then we're back at school the following week. Harry clearly was not happy with that difficulty, but she went on. "Do you want to go right now? We have the rest of the day available."

No one had any objection, but it took a while to get the transportation issues resolved. First Harry called Dobby and had him find out where Potter mansion was from Bill. Interestingly enough, Harold and Rose had actually been there once. When Dobby returned he took Harry and Hermione to the mansion. After looking around a few seconds, they returned to the apartment and dual apparated first Ron and Ginny, then returned for Harold and Rose. Eventually all of them were behind the mansion, looking at the small family graveyard.

By unspoken agreement, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny held back and allowed Harry and his grandparents to approach the graves first. After some time Harry turned and beckoned them forward, and the two girls once more automatically came to his sides, with Ron behind him.

After some time they returned to the apartment and were persuaded to stay for dinner. Harold and Rose regaled them with tales from Lily's childhood, which in some cases were quite similar to the tales the Grangers had told of Hermione's childhood. They pulled out photo albums, and Harry reciprocated by showing them his photo album, willingly fetched by Dobby. Later Rose approached with a box of letters.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Everyone turned to Hermione in surprise at that question. "Well," she explained, "I'm not sure I'd want my children to see some of the things I wrote home in my letters to my parents." She turned to Ginny for support. "Especially things I might have written about boys?" Ginny blushed a little and immediately agreed.

Harold and Rose laughed. "Oh you mean like how she wrote us for years about what an arrogant prat this James Potter was? It's funny, though, how she wrote more about him than any other boy at school. We had a feeling there was something there between them long before she admitted it to herself. Why don't you take a look at a few of them from when she decided he wasn't too bad after all, especially the one where she told us he had asked her to marry him. It was a pretty amusing proposal."

Hermione had read Harry one version of this story from the diary, but the letter had a different spin on it than the diary had and it was just as interesting. Harry quickly declined their offer to let him keep the letters, realizing that these were one of the few things they still had to remember their daughter by. With a lot of hugs, and a few more tears, and promises to visit again when school was out they finally left and returned to their respective homes.

-----

"I can't believe it. After all these years, we have our grandson back."

"And he seems like such a fine young man. A combination of James and Lily for certain."

"Rosie, which one of those girls did it look to you was Harry's girlfriend?"

"I don't know. I think it was Ginny but I'm not sure. She seemed like she was holding on to him more. But he seemed to have some kind of connection to Hermione too. He always looked to her whenever he was uncertain about something."

"Ginny looks just like Lily did at that age."

"Yes, but Hermione _acts_ just like Lily did at that age."

-----

Monday, August 25

Harry and Hermione stood on Charing Cross Road outside the Leaky Cauldron ready to greet the families of the incoming muggleborn students. As the first family found their way over to where they were, he recalled his own introduction to the magical world when Hagrid first took him through the doors of this very pub.

"Hello, I'm Hermione Granger and this is Harry Potter," Hermione began and Harry reached out and started shaking hands, as the parents and children introduced themselves. There were five entering muggleborns this year, Jon, Laura, Kristin, and a pair of twins, Mark and Carolyn. Once they had all arrived, the head students escorted them into the pub and to a back room that had been reserved for the day. In addition to the two of them and McGonagall, Justin Finch-Fletchley, a seventh year muggleborn from Hufflepuff, and Andromeda and Ted Tonks, the new Muggle Studies professors were in attendance.

After they were all seated McGonagall began the presentation with an explanation of the magical world, including the concepts of muggleborn, pureblood, and halfblood. As an example she referred to the Tonks, with Andromeda being a pureblood and Ted a muggleborn, making their daughter a halfblood. To her credit, she did acknowledge that there were relatively few purebloods, and that some of them were prejudiced against muggleborns and the students would face some discrimination. Andromeda Tonks reassured them that success at Hogwarts was in no way related to bloodline, unlike other English private schools they may have been familiar with. She embarrassed Hermione slightly by using her as an example of a muggleborn who was at the top of her class and Head Girl, then recalled that Harry's mother had been exactly the same. McGonagall also informed them of the magical secrecy laws and the underage magic restrictions, which elicited quick shared grins between Harry and Hermione.

Ted Tonks took over and compared and contrasted a few things about the wizarding world with their nonmagical counterparts, including owl post, quills vs. pens, money and banking, the lack of electricity and the corresponding use of magic to accomplish everyday tasks that muggles built machines for, and briefly described the wizarding government.

Justin then described ghosts and informed them that many mythical beasts were actually real, and jokingly told them that Harry had probably had more experiences with these beasts than most students. Harry took the hint and gave a quick description of dragons, hippogriffs, thestrals, acromantulas, and unicorns, concluding with his encounter with a sphinx and its fondness for riddles.

Hermione pointed out that many of these beasts were fairly intelligent and could be communicated with, and that there were other magical creatures that were fully intelligent and should be regarded as equal beings, including goblins, elves, and centaurs.

At this point they took a break and Tom brought in refreshments, introducing them to two of the favorite beverages at Hogwarts, pumpkin juice and butterbeer. The families were given the opportunity to ask a few questions and Harry smiled as the first question from Kristin was whether witches really flew broomsticks.

"Not all of them," Harry quipped, smirking at Hermione, to which she responded by sticking her tongue out at him, much to the delight of the eleven year olds. Harry then went on to assure the students that wizards and witches alike rode brooms and that they would learn during the first few weeks of school. Hermione took the opportunity to inform them that Harry was the best flyer in the school, which Justin readily confirmed. Then she told them that there were also other methods of magical transportation, describing traveling by floo, portkeys, and apparation. At this point they got everyone up and they took the four families through the portal to Diagon Alley to assist them in shopping for their school supplies.

The first stop was at Gringotts, where Harry had arranged for Griphook to be available to set up accounts for each of the students. They exchanged some money for a collection of Galleons, Sickles and Knuts, and the parents were fascinated at the sight of goblins. They all stopped at Madame Malkins for school robes ("Even the boys?" asked a disbelieving Mark) then Hermione eagerly led them into her favorite shop, Flourish and Blotts, while Harry and Justin rolled their eyes at each other.

Harry then insisted on a visit to Quality Quidditch Supplies where he showed them what brooms looked like, and managed to persuade the owner to allow him to demonstrate one of them to a chorus of "Wows," "Cools," and general expressions of awe as he did a few loops and rolls.

After they picked up the rest of their supplies they returned to the Leaky Cauldron for lunch which Tom served at four tables, one for each family, with one or two students or staff members at each table. Harry sat with the family with twins, Mark and Carolyn. Carolyn confidently informed him that she had recognized him instantly, having read all about him in _Modern Magical History_ and _Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century_. Mark merely rolled his eyes and muttered "bookworm" under his breath. He was much more interested in learning how to fly like Harry, which made his sister shudder. It was all Harry could do to keep a straight face as he witnessed the interaction that reminded him so much of similar scenes from his first year.

After lunch McGonagall resumed with a description of Hogwarts which focused on the house system and the different courses that the students would be taking. In keeping with Harry and Hermione's suggestion to try to promote cross-house interactions, she urged them to try to make friends with students outside their own houses, and informed them that there would be a special first-year's study room set up for that purpose. She then called on each of the students to describe something about castle life.

Justin warned them about how confusing the castle would be to get around in, and urged them to not be shy about asking for help finding things, looking especially for the house prefects. To no one's surprise, Hermione advised them to be sure to keep up with their homework and told them about the library. This prompted a snort from Justin and Harry, and at the confused looks from the parents Justin explained that Hermione probably knew the library better than any student at Hogwarts. Harry noticed Carolyn's face light up at that statement, so he stood up and stretched, and suggested that they switch tables so that they might get to know some of the other students. As they moved he casually touched Hermione's arm, guiding her to the table he had just left.

As Harry began his response to McGonagall's request, Justin joked that Harry was more familiar with the hospital wing than any student at Hogwarts and ought to talk about that. The twin glares of McGonagall and Hermione had him cringing in his seat almost before he had finished the sentence. Harry covered for him quickly, noticing the anxious looks on the faces of the parents, explaining that injuries were much more common in wizarding activities and were quite easily healed. He then took the opportunity to describe quiddich to the group, managing to work in that many of his injuries were minor ones obtained playing this sport. The parents relaxed a little as the fathers nodded knowingly, being familiar with sports injuries.

There were more questions this time.

Kristin was first again. "How do you determine which house we're in?" McGonagall took this one, explaining that their first evening at school there would be a sorting ceremony but that the sorting method was a secret. One look from her let the three older students know that she intended it to remain that way.

"Which houses are the three of you in?" came the question from Mark.

"Justin is in Hufflepuff, and Harry and I are in Gryffindor," Hermione replied.

Carolyn had a surprised look on her face. "You're not in Ravenclaw?" she asked, turning to Hermione curiously. "I've read about all of the houses and I thought …"

Before she could finish or Hermione could respond Mark interrupted, "Will I have to be in the same house as my sister?" which brought laughter from the parents present.

Harry responded to this one. "Lots of times siblings are in the same house, but not always. There are twin sisters in our year and one is in Gryffindor and one in Ravenclaw. It depends to some extent on your personalities, so I wouldn't be at all surprised if the two of you ended up in different houses."

Jon asked, "Will my cell phone work?" McGonagall didn't know what a cell phone was so Hermione explained that most electronic devices did not work in the castle because of all the magic.

Kristin had yet another question. "Do we wear school uniforms?" Justin responded that most of the students wore normal clothing under their school robes. He pulled back his robes to reveal jeans and a tee shirt, Hermione was wearing a blouse and a skirt and Harry had on a khaki colored pair of slacks and a blue print casual shirt.

One of the fathers spoke up. "What is platform 9 ¾?" I've been to King's Cross Station and I can't find it anywhere. Harry burst out laughing. At the disgruntled look from the father he immediately apologized.

"I'm sorry. Your question reminded me of my first trip to King's Cross. I didn't have the slightest idea where to go. The only way I found it was I noticed another family that looked like they might be wizards too. I finally got up the nerve to go ask the mother where it was. That's really a good question. We should add that to our presentation." The father nodded, satisfied that Harry had not been making fun of him. Harry then proceeded to describe how to run at the barrier between platforms 9 and 10.

"But you're not a muggleborn. Why wouldn't you have known how to get through?" objected Carolyn, who after all was an 'expert' on Harry Potter.

Hermione moved closer to Harry and squeezed his hand as a sad expression crossed his face. With the visit to his grandparents fresh on his mind, any reminder of his experiences with the Dursleys was painful.

"Carrie!" her mother scolded, seeing Harry's distress.

Harry nodded to Hermione and she responded while he collected himself. "That's OK. Harry's parents died when he was little and he was raised in the nonmagical world by muggle relatives. So he's always sort of considered himself to be muggleborn." This statement caused a raised eyebrow from McGonagall, who had never thought about it that way. _We really didn't do him any favors his first year, did we, expecting so much from him the way we did?_

Laura, a quiet girl who had not said anything yet, merely sitting back and observing, had particularly noticed the interactions between the two head students. "Is he your boyfriend?" she blurted out suddenly.

This question caught everyone by surprise, but Hermione recovered and began her standard response. "No, we're just …"

"Hermione?" Harry interrupted. She turned to him, surprised to see a grin on his face now. Still smiling, he reached over and took her hand. Suddenly it dawned on her and she blushed slightly.

"Oh … right," she stammered, then turned back to the girl, vaguely noticing the interested looks on Justin and McGonagall's faces. "Yes, as a matter of fact, he is." Harry moved closer and put his arm around her waist and she smiled back at him.

The reactions were interesting. The three young girls sighed but the two boys grimaced. Justin had a triumphant smile and proclaimed, "I knew it was just a matter of time. Ernie owes me a Galleon." Even McGonagall permitted herself a small smile before her stern expression returned and she cleared her throat to regain their attention.

"If that will be all, I'd like to thank you for coming today. This concludes the formal portion of our presentation, but most of us will be remaining for a while, so if you have any other questions please feel free to ask."

-----

Before leaving Diagon Alley, Harry and Hermione took the opportunity to visit Ron, Fred and George. When the twins discovered that the two had been escorting new Hogwarts students around Diagon Alley and hadn't brought them in to the joke shop they feigned horror.

"Harry, you're our partner and you passed up the opportunity to bring us new customers? How could you?"

Hermione was having none of that, and let them know in no uncertain terms that she and Harry would be enforcing the rules just as much this year as she and Ron had in past years. As the twins were trying to figure out that statement she gave Harry a wink. Trying to keep a straight face, a task made even more difficult by the fact that Ron was grinning at him like a fool, Harry changed the subject.

"Guys, I've been thinking about how safe the Burrow is. It's been attacked twice already and I'm afraid he might try again." At once the joking mood was gone. This was a serious matter, one that had already been on the minds of the Weasley boys. "With Ron and Ginny gone and Charlie at Hogwarts during the day, I'm worried about your mum. I want to be sure she, or anyone else who's home, can get away if it's attacked again. There's no guarantee she could hold out until the strike team arrives."

They all nodded. The anti-apparation barrier was a two-edged sword in this case. It would delay attackers, but also prevent escape. "There's always the floo …" Ron began to point out, then stopped, remembering the blocked floo during the attack on the shop.

"Did they ever find out who blocked your floo?" Harry asked the twins, the same thought having occurred to him. Shaking their heads, they told him that the ministry investigation had turned up a dead end. "Then it could happen again," he concluded.

"You should all have portkeys," Hermione interjected. Harry agreed. They were hard work and time-consuming to make, but his friends' safety was paramount. "Make them the voice activated kind, too," she continued. At the twins blank looks, she added, "Check with Flitwick, he told me about them."

"Those have to be made from magical objects," Harry filled in. "We found quite a stash in my vaults, so use some of those."

"Harry, how are you going to get Mum to accept a ring or a necklace from your vault?" pointed out Ron. "You know how she is."

Harry nodded to the twins, grinning slightly. "That's their problem."

Harry then went on to review their activities with the twins, who began to excitedly describe their progress with a projectile weapon. Ron excused himself to go out and wait on a customer and Hermione went along to help. When they finished, Harry cast a quick silencing charm and then informed them that they would be attempting to destroy the horcruxes later in the week. The twins were eager to be allowed to participate but Harry wasn't sure.

Concluding his business, Harry asked, "I was wondering, could you make me another mirror so I can contact Viktor from Hogwarts?" The twins readily agreed, but then Fred got a mischievous look. Though wishing Ron were still present so he could rib his brother as well, he decided to tweak Harry.

"Don't you think Hermione would want a mirror to talk with Viktor, too?" He raised his eyebrows and exchanged smirks with George.

Harry didn't bite, and decided to get in a little tweak of his own.

"No, I don't think that will be necessary. If she has a message for him she can call him on mine. Oh, by the way, did we tell you we're dating now?"

The looks on the twins' faces as he left the room to collect Hermione and head home were priceless.

---------------

A/N My betas thought that the idea of Harry's grandparents still being alive but nobody knowing about it was pretty unlikely. I tried to create a plausible scenario where that could be the case.

Professor Cook is a real person and is a colleague of mine (He lives in the US though, not Britain). He's one of the most helpful people you'd ever meet. He really is a grandfather and really does have three daughters but while the youngest one is very intelligent (she has a PhD in computer science) she was not actually in Ravenclaw.

There was some consternation among reviewers last chapter about my comment that there were only two chapters left (now only one). This story goes to the end of the summer (the last scene will be September 1). I am currently writing a follow-up story that will take place during the school year and go through the final confrontation between Harry and Voldemort.


	25. Destruction and Revelations

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Once more, thanks to Old Crow and Dee for all of their help with this story. Without their encouragement, it probably wouldn't have happened.

---------------

**Chapter 25, Destruction; Revelations**

Thursday, August 28

The Room of Requirement had transformed itself into a form Harry had never seen before. There were three separate sections, separated by what looked to be impervious barriers. In each of the sections resided one of the horcruxes, along with the materials Hermione had gathered for their destruction.

Harry would have preferred to do this without an audience, but realized that too many people had a stake in the outcome for that. Not to mention that it would be good to have backup in case something went wrong. His mind drifted back to the destruction of the first horcrux. That had been so simple, just him and the diary and the basilisk fang. Not to mention the rather annoying spectre of the teenaged Tom Riddle about to kill him. _No pressure that time_, he thought wryly.

McGonagall, Flitwick, Remus, and Tonks were here of course, as was Moody. Bill, as the one with the most curse breaking experience among them, was overseeing the backup crew. He, Flitwick, and Remus were ready with the soul destruction spell Dumbledore had used to blast one if Harry's attempt failed. Harry had objected strenuously to this plan, since it might end up killing one of them, but to no avail. Each of them was ready to give their life to make sure he succeeded. _No pressure this time either!_

Of course it would have been impossible to keep Ron and Ginny away, despite all of Molly's objections, and somehow Fred and George managed to inveigle their way into the mix. Finally, Krum had insisted on being there as well.

And of course, Hermione. It was her show, after all. Harry was the performer but she was the director. And she had rehearsed him again and again until he knew exactly what he needed to do and when he needed to do it. She would be assisting him to make sure the acromantula venom was applied at the instant that the physical destruction of the horcruxes occurred. His protestations that it was too dangerous for her had been met simply with 'the look' as he had come to call it. The look that told him again and again that she was with him all the way on this and he had just better get used to it.

Just as they all finished entering there was a flash and Fawkes appeared, gliding to rest atop a perch that the Room instantly provided for him. Harry nodded gratefully to the phoenix, feeling some of the pressure drain away. Fawkes had been present for the destruction of the diary so perhaps this was a good omen.

They all moved into the first section. On the table sat Hufflepuff's cup, along with two bottles of liquid and a syringe. The onlookers were standing twenty feet away across the table from Harry, watching anxiously while Bill, Remus, and Flitwick were off to the side, closer to the table. Hermione stood next to him.

"Wait a minute." Hermione touched Harry's arm to get his attention and as he turned to her she waved her wand at him. His robes were transfigured into a long white coat. Another flick of her wand and his glasses changed into a pair of clear plastic goggles. Then she did the same to herself and they were clad in matching lab coats and safety goggles.

"You," he grinned at her, "have been watching too many movies." She responded with a sheepish grin of her own and shrugged her shoulders. The tension broken, he turned back to the table to begin.

Hermione took a vile of the precious venom out of her pocket and picked up the syringe, carefully withdrawing one cc of the venom. The syringe had a narrow bore needle, and when the plunger was pushed in quickly the venom would squirt out in a fine spray. Harry picked up the two bottles of liquid as 'Professor' Granger began to explain the procedure to their audience.

"The two bottles both contain acids, hydrochloric acid and nitric acid. By themselves neither of them will dissolve the silver cup, but together the two create a powerful solvent called aqua regia. Harry will pour them into the cup, and as they begin to eat into it, destroying it, he will spray the outside of the cup with the venom."

Harry finished pouring the two acids into the cup and stepped back to wait. Hermione silently handed him the syringe. At first nothing seemed to happen, then the liquid began to turn red. Soon it began to bubble and a brown gas started to emerge from the cup. Harry glanced nervously at Hermione but she held up her hand. "Not yet, that's what it's supposed to be doing."

The liquid was bubbling vigorously and the brown gas was pouring out and onto the table. All at once a thin crack appeared near the bottom of the cup.

"Now!" shouted Hermione. Harry immediately pushed in the plunger and a mist of acromantula venom enveloped the cup, coating the outer surface in a thin film. Just as this happened the crack widened and the cup started to shake as red foam began to seep from the crack. A dreadful, piercing scream filled the room, causing the onlookers to jump back as Remus and Bill raised their wands, about to cast the spell. The cup collapsed as more cracks formed and the red liquid flowed out and onto the table, but the screaming ceased. The pieces of the cup fell into the puddle, still fizzing and giving off more brown gas, but the room was now quiet.

Harry released the breath he had been holding and suddenly was aware of the choking brown gas. Hermione waved her wand and a breeze came up, dissipating the gas and the air was clear once more. Another flick and the puddle of acid vanished.

They looked at each other grinning in triumph and relief as Ron and Ginny broke away from the onlookers and ran up to congratulate them. It worked! The first horcrux was destroyed! One down, two to go.

After everyone settled down, they moved into the second section where Ravenclaw's golden dagger was lying on a table. This time there was a jar of a dark reddish orange power beside it and a small strip of metal. The onlookers once again took up their positions and Harry handed the syringe back to Hermione.

Hermione resumed her chemistry lecture as Harry began pouring some of the powder on the blade. "The other two horcruxes are made of gold, not silver, so the aqua regia wouldn't work fast enough on them under these conditions. Gold, however, has a lower melting point so we are going to try to destroy it by melting the blade. The acromantula venom is not stable at high temperatures, though, so we have to melt a small spot on the blade. That way it won't damage the venom on the other parts of the dagger." Harry put the short strip of metal into the pile so an inch or so was sticking out. "This powder is called thermite, and will reach a very high temperature very quickly, melting a hole in the blade without affecting the rest of the knife." Harry stepped back and raised his wand, awaiting her signal.

"This time," Hermione concluded, "it will happen so fast that we will have to light the powder and spray the venom together." She drew another cc of venom from the vial into the syringe, took a deep breath, and nodded to Harry.

With a silent spell Harry lit the end of his wand, then touched it to the metal strip. As soon as it caught it gave off a brilliant white light, then burned down to the pile. There was a blinding flash and a cloud of smoke billowed up from the powder, leaving a glowing lump of molten iron. Hermione immediately pressed on the plunger and like before, the mist of venom coated the dagger. As it was doing so the molten glob of iron slowly ate its way into the golden knife blade and an agonizing scream emitted from the horcrux.

Then, for a brief moment, a white shape emerged from the hole created by the molten iron. The soul fragment was attempting to escape! Harry grabbed Hermione and pulled her away from the table as Bill, Flitwick, and Remus raised their wands with Dumbledore's curse on their lips. But the shape was pulled back into the hole as the venom took effect and the screaming faded away.

The congratulations were more subdued this time, as everyone realized that they had survived a close call. With trepidation, they moved into the last section. This was going to be the toughest one. The aqua regia wouldn't affect it, and it was too small for a repeat of the thermite method.

This time, the locket lay on a table alongside a tongs, an open beaker of a silvery metallic liquid substance and a heavy flask containing a clear, steaming fluid. After conferring with Bill, Hermione returned to Harry with a worried expression on her face.

"I'm not sure this is going to work," she said nervously. "If we don't get all of the pieces with the venom, the soul fragment might escape."

"Then we can't do it with all these people here. It's too risky."

There was a lot of resistance, but in the end, Harry mostly prevailed. McGonagall insisted that she would stay, as did Remus, pointing out that as a werewolf he had the strongest constitution of any of them. He would be the one to cast Dumbledore's soul destruction spell if the soul fragment escaped. Harry desperately hoped that they would succeed. He could not bear to be the one responsible for the death of his father's last remaining friend. The others retreated to the other side of the impervious barrier, which Flitwick managed to charm into transparency. A trill from Fawkes eased their anxiety as the phoenix song calmed their frayed nerves.

Once more Hermione began her explanation of what they were doing. "We are going to attempt to shatter the locket, using cold this time." She glanced at Harry and they exchanged brief smiles, recalling his Terminator comment. "Harry will first dip it into mercury, also known as quicksilver. The mercury will soak into the gold, weakening its molecular structure and making it more brittle. The other flask contains liquid nitrogen, which is extremely cold. We hope to freeze the locket, then drop it onto the table and shatter it, while spraying the Acromantula venom on it." For a third time she filled the syringe with the venom.

"Wait," Harry interrupted. "Let's change positions. I have quicker reflexes than you do. I'm more likely to be able to spray all the pieces before the soul fragment escapes." Hermione realized he was correct and agreed, handing him the syringe and picking up the tongs.

Nothing happened as she dipped the locket into the mercury. When she pulled it out, the once golden locket now had a silvery coating. As they watched, the silvery liquid gradually soaked into the locket. Next she dipped it into the liquid nitrogen, which boiled furiously, with clouds of steam pouring out over the table top. Finally she pulled it out, and looked with apprehension at Harry. He readied the syringe and nodded.

Hermione twirled the locket once and flung it at the table top. It hit the table and slid several feet. It didn't break. With a panicked look on her face, Hermione reached for the locket again with the tongs, intending to throw it harder this time.

"Stop!" She froze, and looked questioningly back at Harry. "Take this," he ordered, thrusting the syringe toward her. Puzzled, she obeyed. Without a word Harry held out his hand, and instantly the Sword of Gryffindor appeared before him and he caught it smoothly.

"Spray the blade." Now realizing what he was doing, Hermione coated the end of the sword with the venom, then stepped back.

In one sweeping motion, Harry swung the sword back and brought it down on the still frozen locket, shattering it into pieces. For the final time that day the dreadful scream signaled the end of yet another soul fragment, this one showing no sign of escaping. The killing stroke had been delivered, as with the basilisk fang, with the physical breach of the horcrux and the toxin together.

Harry's shoulders slumped in relief as he felt a pair of trembling arms embrace him from behind and a bushy head lean against his back. Remus raced up to him and added a bone-crushing hug that would have done Molly Weasley proud. The joyful cry of the phoenix filled the air as Fawkes took flight, circling once and then disappearing with a flash._ 'He sure seems to turn up at just the right time,'_ Harry thought briefly just before his attention was diverted by a swarm of redheads.

"Harry! You did it!" Ginny and her brothers came running into the room, the barrier disappearing now that the need was past. He caught her in one arm as her brothers pounded him on the back and soon everyone was hugging and slapping backs and they made their way back down to the Gryffindor common room to celebrate. Hermione had refused to let go of him the whole time and Harry realized now how scared she had been, worrying about him like she always did. He held back as the others entered the portrait hole, then stopped before entering the common room and pulled her into a proper hug.

"Hermione, you were fantastic today. Everything you did was just brilliant. You know I can never thank you enough for what you do for me." Hermione just hugged him back with tears in her eyes, so overcome by the emotions generated by what they had just done that she couldn't respond. As far as he was concerned she didn't need to. Eventually they pulled apart and he led her into the common room.

Later, after Dobby had brought them all butterbeers and Harry stood surrounded by his excited friends, Ron spoke up. "Now all you need to do is take out that ugly snake. What do you think?"

Harry smiled and raised the Sword of Gryffindor, turning it back and forth, letting it glisten in the light. "I think," he said slowly. "That if this can stop a forty foot basilisk, an overgrown snake should be no problem."

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**Interruption from the author:** When I began this story this was going to be the final scene. But as the story progressed it became clear that it couldn't end here, that it would have a different ending. Those of you who want things simple and uncomplicated may want to stop here. Those who realize that things don't always turn out the way they're supposed to, keep reading.

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August 31

"Hermione?"

Hermione looked up from her final packing to see Harry standing hesitantly in her doorway. He was holding a potions book. _The_ potions book. Her chest tightened. This was the one unresolved issue that remained between them, the one bone of contention that she had hoped would stay buried. It had been a futile hope, she knew, reluctant though she was to admit it. If this was not addressed it would continue to fester at their relationship.

"I want you to have this. There is some really useful stuff in here that you might be able to use in Potions this year." By putting it like that he was ignoring all the unpleasantness from the preceding year, focusing on the positive, trying to make something good come out of it. It was quintessential Harry Potter. She knew what he was trying to do. He knew that she knew.

"Harry …" She stopped, seeing the pleading look in his eyes. He needed her to accept this, to accept him and what he had done. To let him know that it was all right. She reached out and took the book. "OK, I'll take a look at it. Thanks." She bent down to add the book to her trunk, relieved that it was over, hoping they could put it behind them.

"Hermione?" She looked up at him again, seeing this time the anguish in his eyes. It wasn't going to be that easy. She had taught him too well this summer about expressing his feelings.

"This is the one thing that hurt more than anything else that happened between us last year. Your reaction to this just killed me. When you kept saying I was cheating, it just …" There was moisture in Harry's eyes and Hermione was ashamed. One of the bedrock foundations of Harry Potter's character was his integrity, his desperate desire to do the right thing. By attacking that she had attacked his very being. She looked down, her own tears beginning to form. He had been in enough pain last year as it was. Instead of helping him deal with it she had contributed to it.

"I just couldn't understand it and I still can't," he went on. "You're the one who always wants to learn as much as she can about anything we do. You're the one who will go to the library and look up extra stuff about what we're learning so you know even more than what's in our textbook. Why wouldn't you do the same thing with this book? What if you had found it in the library instead of me being given it by Slughorn? There were a lot of useful things in here, things that made the potions easier to make, things that made them better. Even something that saved Ron's life." This was killing her now, it hurt so bad. The worst part was that everything he said was true. He was right and she was wrong about the cheating thing. Worse than that, it was the exact opposite. He hadn't cheated and worse, she had! She had cheated by helping Ron win the keeper's position on the quidditch team. She had no excuse for it. She had doubted her friend's ability. And Harry _hadn't_ cheated when _he_ helped Ron by pretending to use the _Felix Felicitas_. He had trusted his friend's ability and figured out a way to allow him to use it by boosting his confidence, _without_ using magic or a potion.

Hermione tried to respond but couldn't. So Harry continued – and it got worse.

"I never wanted to use this without you. I tried to share it with you the first time I found something different in it. I wanted it to be something we used together, but you kept pushing me away and didn't want anything to do with it – or me." If she thought what he said before had hurt it was nothing compared to what she was feeling now. Her heart felt like it was tearing in two it was in such pain. She had taken something that could have brought the two, or even the three, of them closer together and used it to push him away. The best friend she had ever had. But he had refused to let her. The nastier she was to him the nicer he was to her, as much as she would let him. He had tried to comfort her when Ron made her cry. He tried to keep her from making a complete fool of herself with McClaggen. He had kept coming back to her all year pleading for her understanding, for her help with Malfoy. And she had ignored him, had scolded him, had belittled him. What she hadn't done was believe him or trust him. Until it was too late.

Hermione collapsed, sobbing, onto the floor. In an instant Harry was down beside her, hugging her, trying to make it better. Trying to stammer out an apology to her. To her. After all the pain she had caused him he was trying to apologize to her. She couldn't let him.

"Oh god, Harry! I am so sorry! I can't believe I did that. I … I don't know what I was doing." She clung to him desperately, wishing that all the pain would go away. "How can you ever forgive me?"

"Of course I forgive you Hermione. I love you." She stopped breathing when she heard these words. "I mean … you know what I mean." She started breathing again.

"Yes Harry, I know what you mean. I love you too." The words seemed so inadequate. She couldn't stop the tears, or the guilt. She needed to say more. "You were right. I was wrong to act that way. And I should have trusted you more. I promise you it won't happen ever again."

They continued to hug each other, both willing the other's pain away, both vowing to never again let things like that get between them. Eventually Harry pulled away and looked her once more in the eyes, and she could see that he was still troubled.

"Hermione, I don't want it to seem like I don't appreciate this, and I'm so relieved to hear you say that, but can you tell me what happened? Why did you change?"

This time it was Hermione's turn for some soul searching, and like Ron, what she saw did not make her proud of herself. Deep down she knew what had happened. She had been afraid. Like Ron, afraid that she was going to lose Harry. And so she pushed him away, in a foolish effort to protect herself if she did lose him, and in the process making it even likelier that she would.

"Harry, I was so scared. After you told us the prophecy all I could think of was that we were going to lose you; that I was going to lose my best friend. And when you told us you were going to have special lessons with Dumbledore, I felt left out. Like you didn't need me anymore. And then with that book it looked even more like you didn't need me. With Slughorn treating you like you were better than anyone else it seemed to prove that you really didn't need me. All you needed was that book. I hated that book because I blamed it for taking you away from me. But I realize now that it was really my own fear that was pushing you away."

She was crying again, but it felt better now that she had admitted it, to him and to herself. He pulled her once more into a comforting hug. "Hermione, don't ever think that. Don't ever think that I don't need you. I couldn't possibly do this without you. I was stupid if I ever thought I could."

They had twisted around so that he was sitting on the floor with his back to her bed, and she was now sitting across his lap being comforted, with her head against his chest. She just sat there thinking about what had been said, and thinking that she needed him as much as he needed her.

Finally, he kissed her on top of the head and they disentangled and slowly got up. As he left her room to let her finish packing he turned one last time from the doorway. "Thanks Hermione. Thanks for coming back to me."

She looked at the empty doorway for awhile before returning to her trunk. _And I'll be with you to the end, Harry Potter, whatever it takes. I'm never leaving you again._

-----

September 1

"You almost ready?"

"Yes. Just doing one more last check around. That's usually Dad's job but …"

Harry had moved up behind her and she felt his arms come around her as he drew her into a hug. She relaxed into him and closed her eyes.

"Yeah, I know. It'll be OK." He waited until he was sure she was feeling all right. Finally she pulled away and turned and nodded to him, wiping her eye.

"All right, see you at the station." Harry turned and left the room, and she heard the barely audible pop of his disapparation, just as she felt his presence vanish from the house. Dobby would take their trunks to the castle later so they only had to get themselves and a few things they needed for the train ride to the station. They were going to arrive at Kings Cross a few minutes apart and greet each other as though they had not just come from the same place, one last act in the charade that had dominated their lives in this house for the past two months. They had told a few of the neighbors that Harry had been given a long term project in Edinburgh, and that they would be gone for an undetermined amount of time.

_That's not the only act that's been going on at this house lately,_ Hermione thought as she looked around one last time and thought back over the summer now officially over. It was hard to believe that so much had happened in such a short period of time. They had both grown into people she would barely have recognized three months ago. She had lost track of the number of times she had nearly been killed, or how many people she and Harry had killed. But their fighting skills hadn't been the only things that had developed this summer. For in addition to being the most dangerous, most terrifying two months she had ever experienced, it had also been the happiest. She couldn't ever remember a time in her life that she had enjoyed as much, laughed as much, been as unbelievably happy, as she had been this summer. And there was one reason for it.

Harry Potter. A spur of the moment decision made on the train ride home had led to the two of them becoming closer than she ever thought possible. They had laughed together, cried together, and comforted each other. They had spent countless hours talking with each other, reading and discussing books and watching movies, sharing their likes and their dislikes, their hopes and their fears, their joys and their sorrows, and just taking pleasure in each other's company, never tiring of being together.

She had thought long and hard last night after he had left her room and had kept coming to the same inescapable conclusion. She could no longer keep fooling herself, keep denying what had been growing more obvious to her ever since that day when they had concocted the fake boyfriend/girlfriend scheme. A scheme that at the same time delighted her and terrified her. She had no idea if she would be able to pull it off.

For what her mother had hoped for,  
what the goblins had sensed,  
what Mrs. Longbottom had perceived,  
what Mrs. Weasley had suspected,  
what Viktor had guessed,  
what Fleur had seen,

It was all true. She had fallen deeply, hopelessly in love with her best friend.

And she must never let him know.

He belonged with Ginny.

- 

It was a far, far, better thing.

-

-

**Finite**

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**Afterword**

Well, there it is, my vision of the summer after HBP. At the beginning of the story one of the stated goals was to revisit the question from the movie 'When Harry met Sally' – how close friends can a man and a woman become without the romance thing getting in the way? (BTW, in the movie they ended up in bed together.) We had mixed results in this story. Hermione has fallen for Harry but so far Harry's managed to keep it as just really good friends. This reflects my personal opinion is that it is easier to be close friends with a member of the opposite sex without falling in love with them if you are in a committed relationship with someone else. Harry's attitude about a relationship with Hermione has changed, however. He had never considered the possibility before the summer, but by the end it seems like a perfectly reasonable idea, except that he's interested in Ginny right now.

The characters have all grown and changed during the summer. Their fighting ability has improved dramatically. (It had to!) Each member of the trio has self-esteem issues of one sort or another, and each has made progress in dealing with them. Harry has much more confidence in his abilities, and is more willing to assume leadership and accept and use his fame. Hermione has started to overcome her self image as an unattractive 'bucktoothed, bushyhaired bookworm', regained her sense of humor, and is able to relax and be herself around Harry. Ron has also begun to recognize and get over his inferiority complex.

My next story, titled 'End Game' will continue this tale into the trio's last year at Hogwarts. Part of the story will be a waiting game while preparing for the final confrontation with Voldemort, but a larger part will still be about relationships. Harry is going to have to deal with the problem of having two girls in love with him. The pretend relationships may have seemed like a good idea at the time, but might be difficult to maintain. There will be some unexpected twists and turns for all three members of the trio as couples form and break up on a regular basis. But, as my kids say, "Hey, that's high school!"

I plan to start posting End Game somewhere around the middle of March. If possible, I'll add a note to the end of this story at that time, so everyone who has Soul Searching on Alert will be informed. Hope to see you then.

chem prof

P.S. All of the chemistry used in the destruction of the horcruxes was real. (More than one chemist has ruined a wedding ring while handling mercury.) Since Kinsfire brought it up in his review, I should point out that aqua regia will dissolve gold, but not as easily as it will silver. There was also the problem of how to spray the acromantula venom on the dagger or locket if they were submerged in a flask of aqua regia. Besides, it was more fun to use a different method for each horcrux.


	26. End Game

**End Game**

End Game, the sequel to Soul Searching, has now begun. It can be found on this site, story number /2849639/1/ or just click on the author name above and follow the link. It will continue the story into the trio's seventh year at Hogwarts, up to and including the final battle with Voldemort.

Since fanfiction dot net does not allow chapters that are solely authors notes, here are the first few paragraphs of End Game.

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**Chapter 1, Return to Hogwarts**

September 1

At first glance, Platform 9 ¾ looked much the same as it did every September first. The bright red locomotive sat puffing away, clouds of steam rising into the sky. Students were milling around, dragging trunks, greeting friends, saying goodbye to parents. Younger siblings whined and were shushed.

On closer inspection, though, it was clear that this year was different. The platform was not as crowded; there would be many fewer students on the train this year. The crowd was not as boisterous as in other years. Instead of running back and forth, eagerly checking up on their comrades the students huddled together in small groups. Two sets of questions dominated every conversation. _"Who's here? Who's not here?" _and_ "Is it really safe? Do you think there's going to be an attack?"_

There was a noticeable Auror presence on the platform as the Ministry was aware that this was a high profile target and was taking no chances. There was a less noticeable presence as well, visible only to the few who were in the know. The Order of the Phoenix was also here in force. Each time the barrier to the platform flared, conversation paused and everyone looked up, cataloging the new arrivals, mentally updating the 'coming back/not coming back' list as the newcomers scurried into the crowd seeking the safety of a cluster of students.

Once more the barrier flared, but this time there was a difference. Three students strode confidently through the barrier. There was no ducking, no cowering with this trio. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger had arrived.

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So, follow the link and enjoy the rest of the story! (2849639/1/)


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